You're my What?
by eaw22
Summary: While filming his latest movie, actor Edward Cullen finds himself becoming a new father over the course of his lunch break. Unable to drop the film, Edward is forced to hire a nanny. Will she be enough to complete the family? **ON HIATUS**
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"And cut," the director calls across the set. "That's a wrap for today, get some sleep. Be back tomorrow by seven."

"Oh, thank god," I murmur. I am in one word, exhausted. I plan on going back to the hotel and crashing, the fifteen hour filming schedule finally starting to take its toll on my body.

"Mr. Cullen, there is a Mr. Jenkins that is here to see you," my assistant Alice says to me while I am heading to the makeup trailer to get my makeup removed.

"Not now Alice, I'm too tired to even walk right now. And I have to be back in seven hours, I don't have time right now."

"He said it was very important that he speak with you immediately."

"Unless someone is dying, it can wait until morning. I am not in any shape to have any important discussions right now. Tell him 'I'm sorry, but I'll talk to him tomorrow.'"

Alice huffs and mumbles something under her breath before walking off. Alice has been my saving grace over the years. If it weren't for her, I don't know where I would be right now. She tells me where to be and when, she shows up at my house and drags me out of bed when I've been out all night, and she dresses me to be as she calls it "Hollywood acceptable." I owe my career to her.

After my makeup and costume have been removed, I head back to the hotel which has been my home for the past couple weeks. We're only two and a half weeks into filming, with about two months to go. I am already missing my bed at my house back in LA. When I finally get back to my room, I tiredly remove my clothes before falling effortlessly onto the king size bed. I hear the person next to me shift before steadying and falling back into a deep sleep.

In my haze, I completely forgot that my girlfriend, for all intents and purposes, was here for the weekend. I don't really understand why she is here to be honest. For one, we haven't been together for that long and therefore are not that serious. Secondly, I am working almost fifteen hours everyday, so when I am around I'm sleeping. It doesn't make any sense to me. "Whatever," I think to myself as I roll in the opposite direction from her and fall instantly to sleep.

My alarm clock goes off at six forty-five the next morning. I reach my hand out to stop the offending noise, relaxing back into the bed for a few extra seconds. Just as I make up my mind to get up, an arm snakes its way around my torso preventing me from moving.

"Morning," she mumbles sleepily kissing my chest.

"Morning Lauren. I have to get up and get dressed. I don't know when I'll be back," I say removing her arm from around me standing up.

As I start dressing she says from the bed, "can I come with you today?"

Buttoning up my shirt, I look at her from across the room, "if you want," I shrug. "It will probably be pretty boring, especially in the morning when I am just doing makeup and wardrobe. If you want I can have the car come pick you up around ten, that's when the action really starts."

"Sounds good, I'll see you later then," she says snuggling back into her pillow. _Lucky bitch._

"Bye," I say tying my last shoe. I stand, exiting the room to meet the car in the lobby.

While I'm sitting in my chair getting my makeup done, Alice wanders in handing me my customary morning coffee. "Good morning Edward, and how are we today," she asks while taking a sip from her own cup.

"Better now," I say gesturing to my cup. "And you?"

"I'm good. Catch up on your sleep Mr. Grumpy Pants?"

"Hardly," I reply rolling my eyes. "Sorry about yesterday, I was just really tired."

"It's fine," she waves me off. "But Mr. Jenkins will be here at lunch to speak with you. So don't make any plans."

"I usually don't even have an hour for lunch Alice, what plans could I possibly make," I question.

"I'm just saying, I know Lauren is in town," she shrugs as if to explain.

"Speaking of, she's coming by the set today around ten, so if you could just keep her company I would really appreciate it."

"Ugh," she mumbles, "if I must."

Rising an eyebrow in her direction, "Alice be nice."

"I'm always nice," she says before correcting herself, "most of the time."

I chuckle, "I know you, and I also know that you have chased off a number of my girlfriends in the past, not saying that it wasn't sometimes appreciated."

Giving me a tight-lipped smile she says, "I'll be nice."

"Good," I say turning back to the script for the day.

A couple hours later, I'm on set ready to begin filming. I see Alice and Lauren enter the set, staying in the background out of the way. I usually don't have many people come visit me while I'm on set, typically any guests I may have stay at whichever hotel I'm at.

During a break in filming I head over to Alice and Lauren, "hello ladies, are we enjoying watching?"

"You're right, it is kind of boring, but I like watching you work," Lauren says.

A little disappointed at her reaction I turn to Alice and catch her rolling her eyes. Stifling my laughter I ask, "and you Alice?"

"Well it's nothing I haven't seen before obviously, but this is definitely one of your better movies, so I don't mind watching."

"Good," I reply looking behind me noticing we're starting back up again. "Look I have to get back, see you later."

A couple hours later, we finally have our lunch break. Heading over to the food service tent, I run into an annoyed looking Lauren and Alice. "What's wrong," I ask looking between the two.

"Nothing sweetie," Lauren says plastering on a fake smile. _I hate when people do that._ "Can we go out to eat now?"

"I don't have time to go anywhere Lauren. I just eat here with everyone else," I say motioning towards the tent.

"What," she splutters looking disgusted.

"If you don't want to eat here that's fine, you can go. But I don't have time to leave."

"Don't forget your meeting with Mr. Jenkins, Edward," Alice reminds me.

"Oh, that's right. Thanks Alice, I forgot."

"Well if you have a meeting," Lauren hedges, "I'll just head back to the hotel and get something to eat there."

"Alright, I'll see you later," I say turning to Alice and waving my arm towards the line, "shall we?"

"I better take Lauren back to the car," Alice says. "I'll find Mr. Jenkins then and bring him to you, sound good?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Bye Lauren."

After waiting in line for five minutes, I finally get a plate and sit next to a couple of the crewmembers making idle chitchat. I'm not one of those actors that expect to be treated differently from others. It takes a lot of people to make a movie; the actors just get most of the credit for them because they are the ones in front of the camera instead of behind it.

Twenty minutes later Alice approaches me with an older gentleman dressed in a suit trailing behind her.

"Mr. Cullen, are you finished? Mr. Jenkins is here for your meeting," Alice addresses me.

"Of course, let me just throw my things away and I'll meet you in my trailer," I say standing and pick up my things to dispose.

After I throw my things I head over to my trailer and open the door. The man stands as Alice introduces us, "Mr. Jenkins, let me introduce to Edward Cullen." As we shake hands, Alice excuses herself and exits the trailer.

"Sorry about last night, I was not in the right mindset to have any sort of conversation. This job can take a lot out of a person with the long days I have."

"That's alright, it was very late. I had only just arrived in town and was quite tired myself."

"Please sit," I say motioning towards the couch. "Now what can I help you with Mr. Jenkins, I have limited time before I have to return to set."

"Yes, of course, I don't wish to waste your time. Do you remember a Tanya Denali," he asks.

Confusion evident on my face I nod my head in confirmation, "yes."

"I'm sorry to be the one to inform you sir, but she has recently passed away."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but I don't understand what that has to do with me."

"Well, as we are unable to contact any of her living relatives a the moment, you're the next person in line to contact in situations like this."

"Situations like what," I ask even more confused.

"You're the only one that we have been able to contact to take over custody of Masen," he explains.

"Masen? Custody? What are you talking about?"

"Your son," he says questioningly.

"My what," I exclaim. "You have to be mistaken. I don't have a son. I haven't even seen Tanya in nearly seven years."

"You're the father named on the birth certificate. Masen Carlisle Cullen born to Tanya Denali and Edward Cullen. He's six years old."

After a few minutes of silence I say, "she never told me I had a son. I didn't even know she was pregnant."

"Masen is back at the hotel waiting to meet you."

I finally snap out of my trance and look at Mr. Jenkins, "I can't look after a child. I'm no father, I don't even have enough time in a day to sleep properly, let alone watch after a kid."

"You're all he has left of his family Mr. Cullen. We will try contacting Tanya's remaining family to see if they would like to take custody, but as of right now, you're his primary caregiver. We will check in periodically to make sure he is being taken care of properly, but he is in your custody now. If you choose not to look after him, he will be placed into the system."

"No, I won't put him in that. But I want a paternity test done. One of the reasons Tanya and I broke up was because she was cheating on me."

"I understand Mr. Cullen. If it turns out you aren't the father, he will most likely be placed into the system then anyway. Chances are we would not be able to find out the real paternity if that were the case."

A knock at the door brings me back to reality. "Mr. Cullen, your presence is requested back on set in ten minutes," Alice calls through the door.

"So what do you want to do Mr. Cullen? Do you want me to bring him here, or are you able to come meet him and get him," Mr. Jenkins asked.

"Shit, I don't know. I have to get back to set, I can't just leave. But this isn't really the place for a kid to be running around either. Alice," I call opening the door to let her in.

Looking at me quizzically she enters the trailer looking from me to Mr. Jenkins and back as I shut the door again. "Yes, Mr. Cullen," she asks politely.

"Can you do me a huge favor?"

"Sure," she says uncertainly.

"Please go with Mr. Jenkins back to the hotel and pick up Masen and bring him back here would you?"

"Okay," she says drawing it out. "And who is Masen may I ask?" 

"My son," I say flatly.

At this her eyes bug out of her head, "your what?"

"My son apparently. Would you be able to watch him for the rest of the day," I ask.

"Um," she splutters at a loss for words. "I'm not good with kids," she finally manages.

"Please Alice," I beg. "You know I can't leave and watch him."

"This is way past my job description Edward."

"I know it is. But as a friend, I'm asking you to watch my _son_, Alice. I'll think of something else for tomorrow, okay," I plead.

"Alright," she finally relents. "You better get going back to set, Aro might get upset," she says referring to the director.

"Of course," turning my attention back to Mr. Jenkins I ask, "does that sound acceptable with you Mr. Jenkins?"

"That's fine, I'll be around until tomorrow night if you have any problems or if you change your mind."

"Thank you," I say shaking his hand before exiting my trailer and running to get to the set.

After a few hours Aro shouts, "Take ten everyone." Approaching me he grabs my arm and says, "Edward, what has gotten into you? You have been off in La La Land since you returned from lunch. You're getting paid to act, now do your job," he snaps.

Walking dazedly, I reach my chair and sit, grabbing my water bottle to drink.

"Edward," Alice's voice brings me out of my reverie.

I turn to see Alice approaching me with a frightened looking little boy clutching her hand. I stand from my chair to greet them when they stop in front of me. Looking at Masen it was almost impossible not to recognize the connection between us. He truly was my son, from his green eyes to his bronze hair. The only thing it looks like he got from his mother was his nose.

"Edward, this is Masen, Masen this is Edward."

Crouching down to his height, I stick out my hand, "hello Masen, it's nice to meet you."

He tentatively shook my hand before releasing it, "I know who you are. Mommy always showed me your picture. She would always watch you on TV."

"I'm sorry about your mom. I haven't talked to her in a really long time."

He nods his head looking around him, anywhere but at me it seems. Not knowing what to do or say I stand back up, shifting uncomfortably. Aro calling everyone back breaks the awkward silence.

"Listen Masen, I have to get back to work but I'll see you later okay?"

He looks up at me and nods briefly. Looking at Alice I say, "thank you. You don't know how much this means to me."

"I know, now get back there," she says motioning behind me.

"Yeah, I will." Addressing Masen again I say, "hey if you want to stick around and watch for a little bit you can. But make sure that you're quite and stay with Alice, okay?"

He nods again, the only acknowledgement I get that he's listening to me.

I walk back and continue filming for a few hours. Between every take, I look around and find Masen looking around intently taking everything in. Finally, Aro calls it a day. Luckily, it's still quite early. After I get out of costume, I enter my trailer and find Alice in the corner flipping through a magazine and Masen sleeping soundly on the couch.

"Hey," I whisper to Alice sitting down next to her.

"Hi," she replies setting her magazine down.

"How'd it go today," I ask looking over to Masen taking in his sleeping form.

"As good as can be expected I guess. He's pretty quite, I don't know if he's always like that, or if it's the new setting, or the loss of his mom. I really have no idea, but he seems like a pretty good kid."

I nod my head to show I'm listening, "has he eaten dinner yet," I ask.

"No, I gave him a few snacks that you have in the trailer, but that's about it."

"Ok, thank you Alice," I say turning back to look at her. "Really, I don't know what I would do without you."

"You'd manage," after a short pause she adds, "maybe."

I chuckle to myself, "goodnight Alice. See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight Edward. If you need anything tonight, don't hesitate to call me."

"Thank you," I say as she exits the trailer.

Walking over to the sleeping boy on my couch, I gently run my hand over his back to wake him up. "Hey Masen buddy, wake up," I say softly.

Slowly he starts to stir, blinking rapidly to adjust to the lighting in the room. Looking at me briefly, he looks around the room quickly realizing it's just us two. "Where's Alice," he asks quietly.

"She went back to her room at the hotel. Are you hungry, would you like something to eat for dinner," I ask.

"Is Alice going with us?"

"No," I say gently. "It's just going to be us."

"Oh," he mumbles sitting up.

"Is that okay," I ask.

"I guess. Will she be there when we get back to the hotel?"

"She'll be at the hotel, but she's not staying with us. She has her own room," I explain.

"Is Mr. Jenkins going to be with us?"

"No, just us. Did you want to eat somewhere, or do you want to get room service," I ask diverting his attention away from Alice and Mr. Jenkins.

"Room service," he says after contemplating it for a couple minutes.

"Okay, let's go shall we," I say standing up and walking to the door. Not hearing any other movement, I turn around and notice that Masen is still frozen on the sofa.

"Masen, are you ready to go," I ask walking back over towards him.

His head snaps towards mine fearfully before he nods and rises from the couch. Not knowing what to do, I tentatively extend my hand for him to take, which he gladly accepts. "Do you have anything here, or is your stuff back at the hotel?"

"I don't have anything," he mumbles.

"Okay, we'll sort it out when we get back to hotel, how does that sound," I ask.

He shrugs his shoulders as he follows me out of the trailer to the waiting car. After the short car ride to the hotel, we walk hand in hand to the elevator to go up to the top floor. Opening the door to the room, I motion Masen to walk in ahead of me. I follow behind him, and walk over to the sofa sitting down and patting the seat next to me. He sits down hesitantly taking in the surrounding rooms.

"So what are you hungry for," I ask picking up the menu on the table next to the sofa.

"Whatever you're having is fine," he mumbles not looking directly at me.

"A cheeseburger sound okay," I clarify.

"Yeah," he replies softly.

After calling in our order, I settle back into the couch and flip the TV on. I start looking for something to watch when I realize that anything I would want to watch is probably not kid appropriate. "What kind of shows do you like to watch," I ask hoping to get some insight in to what to look for.

I feel him tense slightly next to me, "I wasn't allowed to watch shows at home. When mommy was home she always watched her shows or your movies, but Laurent would never let me watch anything," he says fidgeting nervously with his hands.

"Oh, okay," I respond looking for the Disney channel thinking that's the only kid station I can remember. After a slight pause I ask, "Who is Laurent?"

"Mommy's boyfriend that lived with us."

"Oh, did you like him," I ask trying to figure out how big of shoes I have to replace.

He shakes is head minutely before scooting to the far corner of the couch and wrapping his arms around his legs. Finally finding the channel, I turn it on before turning to Masen perplexed, "why didn't you like him?"

He shakes his head again, not answering me while cowering further into the corner. I move closer to the frightened child and place a tentative hand on his back to comfort him. He flinches from touch and I remove my hand wondering what would cause that sort of a reaction. As if a light bulb went off in my head I gasp, "he didn't hurt you did he?"

His eyes widen as he looks at me pleadingly, as if asking me not to make him answer. "You can tell me Masen," I say softly trying to comfort him. I once again place my hand on his back, ignoring him flinch, as I rub soothing circles on his back. "I promise that he won't hurt you anymore and he will never know that you told me. It can be our little secret, how does that sound," I say trying to coax a response.

After several quite minutes he finally responds, "sometimes, but only when mommy wasn't home. I had to be strong for her because he said he would hurt her if I told anyone," he says quietly.

Not knowing what else to do, I pick him up and cradle him in my arms whispering comforting words to him all the while. A couple minutes later, a knock at the door brings me out of our bubble. Not wanting to release the boy in my arms, I pick him and walk to the door, hugging him closely to me.

After dismissing the staff, I settle back on the couch and bring Masen slightly away from my body so I can look at him, "are you ready to eat?"

He nods and slowly moves off of me onto the floor in front of the coffee table. Removing the lids to our meals, we start eating in comfortable silence while watching TV. Just as we're about finished, the suite door opens, reveling a disheveled looking Lauren.

Hearing the noise from the TV she starts to speak, "oh you're back early," she starts to say before trailing off after noticing Masen. "Who's your little friend here," she says walking over cautiously.

"Lauren this is Masen, Masen this is my friend Lauren," I introduce not wanting to give away who Masen is to me and not wanting Masen to know about Lauren. "He'll be staying here with me from now on Lauren," I say, hoping she'll get the hint that she is no longer welcome staying with me.

"Oh," she says clearly disappointed. "Can I talk to you for a second in the other room," she says motioning towards the bedroom.

"Sure," I say before leaning in to whisper to Masen, "I'll be right back. If you need just call for me and I will be out in a flash, okay?"

He nods his head in acknowledgement before turning his attention back to the show. I stand and follow Lauren into the bedroom, shutting the door behind me so Masen wouldn't hear our conversation.

"Who the hell is that Edward," Lauren snaps at me. "Is that your son that you somehow forgot to mention? Cause I am too young to be someone's mother," she continues to rant.

"Stop Lauren, look this isn't working between us. I'm never here and god only knows where you were before coming in tonight," I say motioning to her disheveled attire. "It would be best if you packed your things tonight. I'll have Alice find you a flight out tonight unless you would rather have a room for the evening," I offer.

Crossing her arms over her chest she fumes, "don't bother, I'll just go back to Tyler, lord knows _you_ haven't given it up yet. A girl has to find it somewhere."

"Well I'm glad that's settled now," I say before turning on my heel and returning to the little boy in the other room.

Fifteen minutes later, Lauren storms out of the bedroom dragging her multiple suitcases behind her. Usually, I would be a gentleman and offer to help, but she doesn't deserve it.

A half hour later when my eyelids start to droop, I look to Masen and find him in a similar situation. "Time for bed I think," I say turning off the TV. Standing, I offer my hand to help Masen up and start to lead him to the other bedroom that is located off the living area.

Looking around the room curiously he asks, "are you sleeping in here too?"

"No, this is your room," pointing to the room I was in earlier, "that's my room, so if you need me at all during the night that's where I'll be, okay?"

He fidgets with his hands before looking up me timidly, "can I sleep with you tonight?"

"Uh," I stutter taken off guard by his request. _Is that normal for a six year old to still sleep with his parents?_ "Sure, I guess that would be alright. Do you have any other clothes with you to change into for bed?"

He shakes his head no, "everything burned in the fire."

Looking at him with wide eyes I reply, "Right, sorry, I forgot." _Mr. Jenkins couldn't have told me about the fire? Is that how Tanya… died? Oh god._ "We'll have Alice pick up some things for you tomorrow, how does that sound?"

He shrugs, "Good."

Grabbing his hand, I lead him back into my room pulling down the covers for him to climb in. _Thank god Lauren and I never had sex_.

"If you would be more comfortable you can take off your jeans and sleep in your underwear, that's what I do most nights," I add on to let him know it's okay.

"Okay," he shifts uncertainly. Looking at me shyly he starts fidgeting with his fingers.

"Do you want me to turn around," I question him raising an eyebrow. He shakes his head no. "Are you not tired anymore," I asked confused.

"I'm tired," he replies looking at me from under his lashes. "Aren't you tired," he asks me.

"Uh, yeah," I say still confused. "Are you going to sleep like that," I ask.

He shrugs looking at me timidly, "are you?"

I shake my head no, before realizing that he's waiting for me to change too. I remove my clothes, and notice him doing the same. Standing in my t-shirt and boxer briefs, I walk back over to him a pat the bed for him to crawl into. He obliges, and I bring the covers up, tucking him in. "Goodnight Masen, I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Where are you going," he asks fearfully, starting to sit up.

I lay my hand on his shoulder gently pushing him back down, "I'm going to make a quick phone call before I go to bed. I'll be just in the other room for a couple minutes and then I'll be back. I won't be far," I sooth.

With tearful eyes, he nods his head. Debating with myself to stay with the scared child, or making the phone call, I quickly exit the room saying I'll be right back. I have to make this phone call, it's too important.

Picking up my phone from the coffee table, I quickly dial my number two speed dial so I can hurry back to Masen. After a short pause the line picks up, "Edward, is everything okay, it's late."

"Everything is fine mom, I'm sorry to call so late, but it's important. Would you be able to take off of work for the next week or two," I ask.

"I'm sure I would be able to, what's the matter dear? Are you in some sort of trouble?"

"No I'm not in any trouble, I'll explain when you get here. Would you be able to leave in the morning, I would like you here as soon as possible."

"Edward, you're scaring me. Tell me what's going on," she says sounding panicked.

"There's nothing to be worried about mom, trust me. Something was brought to my attention today that I need to deal with, but I'm in the middle of filming so I can't just drop everything at the moment. I don't want to explain over the phone, but I'll tell you as soon as I see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure dear. Does your father need to come too," she asks sounding a more calm.

"He doesn't need to, but if he has the next couple days off by chance, I would love to see him."

"Ok, we'll see you tomorrow then," she verifies.

"Yes, I'll speak with Alice and have her set everything up. She'll call you with the details. I can't wait to see you."

"You too honey, I love you Edward."

"I love you too mom, send my love to dad as well."

"Will do, bye," she says hanging up.

After hanging up the phone with my mother, I make a quick phone call to Alice apologizing for the late hour and explain my plans to her for the morning.

I quickly set the alarm on phone before going back into the bedroom. Masen is sitting up in bed, hugging his pillow, with silent tears streaming down his cheeks. "Oh, bud, I told you I was just making a phone call," I say walking over to my side of the bed. I quickly climb in, taking the pillow out of his grasp and wiping the tears from his eyes. "What's the matter," I ask quietly.

Sniffing, he says, "You were gone a long time. I didn't want you to leave me too."

Shocked by his response, I pull him closer to me enveloping him in my arms like earlier and rocking him gently. "I'm here, I won't leave you," I assure him.

After several minutes of silence, I lay us down on the mattress to get more comfortable. Still in my arms, Masen snuggles closer to my body before sighing contently. After a little while, I finally allow myself to close my eyes and fall into slumber after I hear Masen's breathing even out, signaling he has fallen asleep.

**A/N: Thank you for reading. I was trying to fall asleep the other night and this story line just popped into my head. I jotted down a rough outline, and pumped this chapter out the next day. I don't have anyone proofreading before I publish so I hope there aren't many typos. I have a pretty good start on the second chapter, but I was too excited to post this to continue writing. I hope you enjoy. And for those of you reading my other story, I haven't given up on it. I have a partial chapter for that one waiting to be completed as well. Hopefully this will make writing the other one easier, now I can go back and forth when I have writers block. Please review and let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I awake to the alarm blaring from the nightstand beside the bed and I reach over to shut it off. I try to shake off the weird dream I had last night of finding out I had a long lost son. A body shifting next to me reminds me of how relieved I was to be rid of Lauren in my dream; I quickly make plans to end things with her. Deciding to finally get up, I look down to the body nestled into my side and freeze.

It wasn't a dream. My son's tiny arms were still wrapped tightly around my chest from the night before. Using my left hand, I gently start stroking his back to wake him from his sleep. "Hey Masen," I whisper in hope that I don't scare him. He starts stirring slightly as I repeat the action a few more times. Eventually his eyes open, looking around the room mystified and still half a sleep.

His eyes finally settle on mine and he mumbles a quite, "hi."

"Good morning. It's time to get up and get ready. Alice will be here soon to take you shopping for new clothes while I'm at work. Does that sound okay," I ask to make sure he's comfortable going without me.

He nods his head, loosens his arms from me, and sits up rubbing the sleep from his eyes. I disentangle myself from the sheets to go relieve myself in the bathroom and brush my teeth. I walk back into the bedroom and find Masen in the same position I left him in.

"Can you get dressed so you're ready when Alice comes? The bathroom is right there if you need to use it," I say pointing behind me where I just came out from.

He slowly moves off the bed and pads into the bathroom and shuts the door as I find some clean clothes to throw on. A couple minutes later, Masen exits the bathroom going over to retrieve his jeans from the other side of the room.

"I don't have any food here and we don't have time to order anything, but I'll have Alice stop somewhere for you to get breakfast, okay?"

Again, he bobs his head in acknowledgement. A knock at the door breaks the silence, and I walk over to find Alice on the other side.

I usher her in as she starts to talk a mile a minute, "Your parents will be landing around eleven, and I have arranged for Mike to pick them up from the airport. I'll take Masen shopping for clothes, hygiene items, toys, etc. After we're done, I'll bring him back to your trailer so you can introduce him to your parents. Am I missing anything," she asks.

"Just breakfast. I don't keep any food here because I usually just eat on set or order in, but we didn't have time this morning. So if you could get him something, that would be great. Also, if you could pick up some cereal and pop tarts, or whatever kids eats these days, so that I have something here for him in the mornings, I would really appreciate it."

As I'm talking, she whips out her iPhone and starts typing away frantically making notes, "got it," she says when she's finished.

"And when I have a break this afternoon, I have to discuss some things with you, so please be available."

"I'll make sure I'm around," she nods.

Turning to look at Masen who is standing uncertainly in the door to the bedroom I say, "ready to go Masen? I have to get to work, and you're going to go with Alice to get breakfast and some new clothes."

He nods his head and walks shyly over to me taking my hand in his. _Alice was right, he his really quite_. I give it a slight squeeze before I open the door and we make our way to the elevator. Once we reach the lobby I bend down to Masen's height and address him, "I'll see you in a couple hours, okay? Be good for Alice."

"Okay," he whispers to me, before hugging me tightly. Taken a little off guard by his display of affection, I hug him back just as tightly and whisper goodbye. Straightening back up, I walk out the front doors and enter the car that Mike is holding open for me. He shuts the door and runs around the back to the driver's side to take me to the set. I watch Alice talking to Masen who is staring longingly at my car as I drive away from him; I give him a small wave even though I know he won't be able to see it through the dark tinted windows.

I pull out my phone and dial the phone number I received yesterday from Mr. Jenkins. "Hello," he answers groggily.

"Mr. Jenkins, this Edward Cullen calling. I'm sorry for the early morning wake up call, but it's one of my only free times before the craziness starts for the day," I explain.

"It's not a problem Mr. Cullen. What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you would be able to meet up with me this morning before filming starts. I usually have at least an hour after I'm through with makeup before we start, and I would like to speak with you before lunch."

"Sure, I'll just clean up and eat something quickly before I head over."

"Sounds good, see you soon," I say and close my phone as we arrive at the gate.

I sit distractedly in my makeup chair staring off into space, thinking about the impending conversation with Mr. Jenkins and the arrival of my parents. My mother is always trying to get me to settle down saying she wants grandchildren, but I don't think expected them like this.

"No coffee this morning to wake you up Mr. Cullen," my makeup artist Jessica asks.

"No, Alice is busy running some other errands for me this morning. I actually forgot all about my coffee until you mentioned it," I reply.

"You must be really distracted this morning then," she muses. "You've hardly spoken three words and you've barely looked at your script. Care to share what's on your mind?"

"Just thinking. My parents are going to be here in a few hours and it's been a while since I've seen them, I guess I'm just looking forward to that."

"Ah," she says dropping the subject and returning to her work while I finally pick up my script to go over.

After my makeup and costume are complete, I return to my trailer before I'm called to set. A knock at the door brings my attention away from the material in front of me as I call for them to enter. I exchange pleasantries with Mr. Jenkins, motioning him to take a seat.

"Let's get down to business, shall we," I say not waiting for a response. "It was brought to my attention last night while speaking with Masen that I am clueless about the situation surrounding his mother death and what his living situation was like before any of this happened," I trail off waiting for him to fill in the empty blanks.

"Ah, yes, I'm sorry about that. We were a little more rushed in our discussion yesterday than I would have liked. I first met Masen after his mother died in a fire at their home. Masen was able to escape before he got trapped, but Tanya was found passed out from the smoke in her room on the second floor. She was badly burned and they were unable to resuscitate her; they declared her dead at the hospital, which is when I was contacted. Masen only suffered from mild smoke inhalation.

"I don't know much about the living situation before the event, except that he lived with his mother and her boyfriend. He survived as well, but refused to take custody of Masen after Tanya's death. They figured the fire originated in Tanya's room, but they don't understand how she wasn't able to get out before it spread."

Soaking everything in that he said, I ask the question that has been haunting me since last night, "While he was getting checked over by the doctors, did they mention any signs of abuse on Masen?"

Shock clearly written all over his features he shakes his head vehemently and stammers, "No, nothing was ever mentioned. Why, do you have evidence to the contrary?"

"No _physical_ evidence, however I have not checked over his person either. Last night we were talking and he mentioned Tanya's boyfriend. Naturally, I asked him if he liked him and he absolutely froze and recoiled into the sofa. I asked him if he had hurt him, and eventually he acquiesced but he never went into detail about it. He only said that he had to be strong so that he didn't hurt his mother."

Looking at me like a fish out of water he says, "I had no idea. Nothing was ever said before. I guess that would explain why he wouldn't take custody of Masen. I thought that was strange after he had been living with them for almost five years. I'll look into it, but I don't know if there is anything we can do in a situation like this. It would his word over Masens,' and quite frankly, with no evidence, there is little we can do. Luckily he's out of that environment now, that's the most important thing."

"Yes it is. There isn't anyway that he could come after Masen later on and try to get custody or anything, is there," I ask for my own peace of mind.

"No, nothing that you would have to worry about anyway. You're his biological father, as long as he is well taken care of, no judge would take him away from you."

"That's a relief. Thank you for time Mr. Jenkins," I say standing to shake is hand.

"Not a problem Mr. Cullen. I will take a look into this new information and I'll let you know what I find," he says as he exits the trailer.

A few hours later, Aro finally calls cut for a lunch break. I notice Alice and Masen hovering in the back, so I make my way towards them. "Hey buddy," I say crouching down, "did you have a good time with Alice this morning?"

"Yes, I got a lot of cool stuff," he says happily.

"That's good, you'll have to show me later okay?" He nods his head as I stand back up.

"How'd everything go," I ask Alice.

"Really good, he was a little more talkative today once we started shopping but he was pretty quite after you left and while we were eating breakfast. I think that he missed you," she surmises.

"Really," I ask slightly happy that he likes me enough to miss me.

"Yes, he kept asking when we were going to come see you. But your parents are waiting for you in your trailer, they haven't seen Masen yet."

"Alright let's go," I say grabbing Masen's hand in my own. While we're walking I address Alice again, "can you wait outside with Masen for a couple minutes so I can talk to my parents, I haven't told them about him yet."

"Of course," she replies.

"I'll come get you when we're ready."

She nods her head in understanding. Once we reach my trailer, I bend down to talk to Masen, "inside there are some people I want you to meet. But I'm going to go in and talk to them for a little bit first, and then I am going to come out and get you, okay?"

"Okay," he says quietly.

"I'll be right back," I say walking into my trailer. "Hey mom and dad," I address the couple on the sofa.

My parents are still very young looking for their age. Since my mother was unable to have children after a miscarriage when she was young, they opted to adopt instead. They adopted my older sister Rosalie right after she was born; her mother was a victim of rape and couldn't stand to have the reminder around her all the time. They adopted me when Rosalie was seven and I was five. My parents died in a car crash, which I somehow managed to survive with only a couple broken bones and some scratches. Carlisle was the attending on call when they were brought into the hospital; he brought me home after they passed away because I had nowhere else to go. I've been with them ever since.

My father has blond hair that matches Rosalie's almost perfectly; one would almost think he was her real father. My mother's caramel locks are similar to my bronze ones, however neither of my parents possess my striking green eyes that I inherited from my biological mother. If an outsider looked in our family, they would never know that we were adopted; few people knew that secret, it wasn't something that we shared with the general public.

"Edward," my mother sighs, rushing to me and pulling me into a tight hug. Kissing her cheek, I step back slightly while she holds me at an arms length checking for anything out of place. "How are you doing," she says placing her hand on my cheek.

"I'm doing well, how are you," I ask moving towards my father giving him a quick hug.

"We're fine, now are you going tell us what all of this is about," she demands.

Giving her an innocent smile I say, "can't a guy just miss his parents?"

"Edward Anthony," she says sternly, "we know how busy you are when you're in the middle of filming, so requesting our presence isn't simply for the fact that you miss us. Now explain."

Letting the carefree mask slip off my face, I look at them wearily, "I want to introduce you to someone. His name is Masen, he's six years old and he's my son."

"What," the say in shock.

Running my hand through my hair I slouch into a nearby chair and rest my face in my hands. "Do you remember Tanya Denali," I ask rhetorically not waiting for a response, "she passed away recently, leaving behind a son. My name is on the birth certificate as the father; I never even knew he existed until yesterday when a social worker showed up here looking for me. I didn't believe it at first, but the timeline fits from when I last saw her. And when you look at him, god you can't deny that he isn't mine," I trail off.

After a few minutes, my mom asks, "Can we meet him?"

I nod my head, "yes, in a little bit. I just want to discuss one more thing with you. The reason why I asked you here for so long mom is because I was wondering if you could watch him while I'm working. I can't quit while we're in the middle of filming to watch him, as much as I wish I could. And that is asking too much of Alice, she already watched him yesterday, and this morning. Although I don't think she minded as much this morning because she was shopping, but that's not part of her job. I was just wondering if you would mind watching him until I can find someone more permanent, like a nanny or something," I ramble.

"Of course Edward, anything you need," she replies.

"Thank you so much, it really means a lot to me," I say standing and hugging her again. I release her and open the door to the trailer motioning them to come in.

"I'll just stay out here. Did you want me to get lunch for everyone," Alice asks.

"Sure, and thank you Alice, for everything."

She smiles at me, "don't mention it Edward."

Picking Masen up I say, "are you ready?"

He shrugs his shoulders moving closer to me. I turn back around and enter the trailer to find my parents standing patiently in front of the couch.

"Mom, Dad, this is Masen. Masen, these are my parents," I tell him softly. I have been avoiding calling Masen my son in front of him in case there is a slight chance that the paternity test comes back saying he's not mine, I don't want to confuse him.

My mom walks forward extending her hand to him, "Hi Masen, it's nice to meet you." Masen shakes her hand quickly before letting go and snuggling closer to me.

My dad steps up next to my mother wrapping his left arm around her waist while extending his other hand to Masen, "hello there Masen," he says gently. Masen shakes his hand and burrows into the crook of my neck.

Smiling softly at my parents, I resume my position in the chair I was in earlier, cradling Masen closer to me. Following my lead, my parents take their seats on the sofa. "Masen, nana and papa are going to be staying with us for a couple of days at the hotel. They are going to watch you while I'm at work," I explain to him.

"What about Alice," he finally whispers. "Doesn't she like me anymore?"

Surprised he would jump to that conclusion, I quickly soothe his fears, "of course Alice likes you, but she has a job like I do, so she can't watch you. You'll still see her; she works for me, so she'll be around a lot."

"Okay," mumbles into my collar.

A knock at the door snaps my attention away from Masen as Alice peaks her head in, "I have lunch, is it alright to come in?"

"Of course," I say standing up and untangling myself from Masen. I set him on the floor, grabbing his hand leading him to the table. I look at my parents, wondering why they aren't following, and find them watching me with rapt attention.

Raising an eyebrow at them in question I ask, "are you guys coming?"

Shaking their heads to clear their thoughts, they take the seats opposite us. Alice passes dishes around to everyone and takes a seat next to me. Mom and dad ask about work and then turn their questions to Alice, letting Masen get comfortable in their presence.

After we finish eating, I look at the time wincing. "I have to get back," I say standing. Masen finally showing some recognition of what's going on, rushes to my side and attaches himself to my leg.

"Don't leave me," he cries into my pant leg.

Grief stricken, I scoop him up in my arms and he immediately wraps his arms in a viselike grip around my neck. I shush him and idly start rocking him from side to side, "I have to go back to work buddy. Nana and Papa will watch you, okay? Maybe you can stay for a little while and watch me while I work. Alice can show Nana where to go so that she can bring you whenever you want to see me. I don't know when I'll be done, so you might be in bed before I get back."

At that he squeezes me even tighter, "I don't want to go to bed without you," he whimpers.

"It could be really late before I get back, but I will be there when you wake up in the morning, okay," I try to comfort him. "I have to go right now though. The sooner I leave, the sooner I can get done and get back to you."

"Okay," he sniffles relaxing his grip on me.

I walk him over to the couch and lay him down, "how about you take a nap for a little bit? And when you wake up, it will be that much closer to when I get back," I say running my hand through his hair comfortingly as he closes his eyes. "I'll see you soon."

I motion my mother to follow me out the door. Turning to her I say, "see if he'll sleep for a little while. I think that he should with how worked up he was, but I honestly have no idea. You can keep him around here for a while if he wants to stay and watch, or you can take him back to the hotel, it doesn't matter to me. You can get a key from Alice for the room.

"He wants to stay up until I get back tonight, but I don't know when that will be. Lately it has been around midnight, so he should be asleep by then. You and dad can have the extra room; Masen sleeps with me. Alice purchased some things for him today, I have no idea what she all got, but see if you can get him to shower before bed.

"If you talk about me, don't refer to me as his dad because I don't want him to be confused if it turns out I'm not, even though I highly doubt that's the case. And don't refer to the hotel as 'home' because I don't want him to think that is where we live either," I rant, running my hand through my hair pacing slightly in front of her.

"Edward, stop," she says grabbing my arms halting me. "Breath," she instructs. I do as she says taking a deep breath and looking at her once again. She smiles at me running her hand through my hair, "you are going to be a wonderful father, you're a natural. You are already trying to anticipate his every need and trying to prevent harming him in the future if you end up not being his father. I have never been more proud of you than I am at this moment. I can handle it from here, you better get back before the director gets angry."

I give her a sad smile, looking behind her at the door leading to my new life. I kiss my mothers cheek asking her to remind Alice to find me later, and then scurry off towards the set. As I approach, Aro looks at me mildly displeased, luckily there were some technical difficulties that delayed filming momentarily.

During a short break, Alice appears at my side reminding me that I asked to speak with her.

"My mom is only staying for a week or two at most, so I have to find a permanent replacement. I need you to find me a nanny by the time my mother has to leave," pulling out a sheet of paper I have been scribbling on, I hand it to her. "Here are some of the specifications I require, and feel free to add on whatever you think necessary," I say giving here time to read it over.

_Nanny Requirements:_

_Live with me and Masen_

_Willing to relocate to LA and travel with me during filming_

_Willing to sign a privacy agreement_

_Good with kids_

_Flexible with work schedule (not knowing when she/he will have time off)_

After reading it through Alice asks, "Can you elaborate a little more so I understand your reasoning behind the list if applicants have questions?"

"Sure. Obviously I would want them to live with Masen and me because of my hectic work schedule. It's never the same so it will be unpredictable when they are needed. Along the same line, due to my work schedule it could be a month or longer before they will have a day off. They will have more time off when school starts up for obvious reasons. If they are living with us, it's expected they would relocate to LA when I am threw with filming and then travel with me in the future. I don't want to find someone just for when I'm filming here, only to find someone new when we get back to LA. I don't want Masen to have to deal with a revolving door when it comes to his caretaker.

"And they will be required to sign a privacy agreement stating they will not sell information about me or my son's life to the press, etc. Also, when you find potential prospects, don't tell them they will be working for me until I have a chance to interview them. You can do any pre-screenings, but I'll interview all final applicants. And I think the "good with kids" part is self explanatory," I smile cheekily.

"That's very thought out Edward. I'm impressed with how well you're handling all of this, not many people would be able to handle it with as much grace as you have." _ Ha, if only she knew the chaos running through my head._ "I haven't seen you freak out once."

"Thank you Alice, it's good to hear that I'm doing something right. I don't have time to freak out either, I'm sure if I actually had time to sit down and relax, I'd have a meltdown. I mean I am in charge another person's _life _for Christ's sake," I say running my hands through my hair."But I have nothing but the best intentions in mind when it comes to Masen. He's been dealt a shitty hand in life so far, I plan to do whatever I can to make sure he's taken care of and safe."

She smiles kindly at me, "it shows Edward. And you're doing a wonderful job. Don't over think it; just keep doing what you're doing. But I should get back, I'll bring your mom by to show her where she can bring him."

"Thanks Alice, you deserve a raise," I say giving her a wink. She laughs and walks off.

After a couple more hours, we are released for a quick dinner break. While I'm getting my plate, someone taps my shoulder causing me to turn around. Alice is standing behind me with Masen anxiously clutching her hand. "He wanted to see you and I heard there was a break so I brought him by," Alice explains.

My famous crooked smile graces my lips as I look down at Masen, "hey bud, do you want to eat with me?"

He nods his head giving me a big smile. I chuckle and ask Alice to grab him a plate, "What do you want to eat," I ask.

"Whatever you're having," he says standing close to me.

After filling our plates, we settle at an empty table side by side, while Alice gets a plate for herself. I start eating and soon notice Masen mimicking my every movement. I take of bite of chicken; he takes a bite of chicken. I take a drink of milk; he takes a drink of milk. Smiling at him I take a mouthful of banana and watch him eye his banana warily before he slowly peels it taking a small nibble. His face screws up in distaste before he quickly swallows followed by taking a big swig of his milk.

I chortle, "don't like bananas I take it?"

"No," he grimaces, "are you mad?"

Frowning at him I answer, "no, why would I be mad that you don't like bananas?"

"Because you like them," he shrugs looking down at his plate. "Do you still like me?"

Wrapping my right arm around him I reassure him, "of course I still like you. There is _nothing_ you can do that will ever change the way I feel about you Masen."

"Okay," he whispers giving me a small smile in return.

Before too long, I say goodbye to Alice and Masen telling him I won't be back until late. Around ten o'clock, we are finally released for the night and I eventually make my way back to the hotel. Upon entering the room my mom motions me to sit down next to her.

"How'd it go today," I ask her.

She gives me a little smile, "it went alright. He is a wonderful boy Edward," I nod in agreement. "He really missed you; I think he is going to have separation anxiety when it comes to you. He was extremely quite and asked when he was going to see you for most of the afternoon. After he got back from dinner it wasn't quite so bad, but he still asked when you would be coming back. I tried to get him to shower but he absolutely refused. Your father even tried to get him to, but all he would do was shake and sob uncontrollably.

"When I told him it was time for bed he kept saying not yet, that you weren't back yet, and that he couldn't go to bed without you. I told him that he could wait for you in bed, and the last I checked, he was still awake."

"Thank you, mom. Hopefully he'll open up more to you and dad once he spends more time with you guys. I have a later call time tomorrow so I'll try to get him to shower in the morning," kissing her cheek I say goodnight.

I slowly open the door to the bedroom and find Masen propped up against the headboard half asleep still in his clothes from the past couple of days. "Hey buddy," I say quietly, "why aren't you sleeping?"

"I was waiting for you, I didn't want to sleep without you," he says waking up a little more.

"You shouldn't wait up for me Masen," I reprimand softly. I notice his pajamas discarded on the dresser in the room and pick them up, "let's get you in your pajamas, come here," I say motioning him over to me. I sit in a chair and help him pull off his clothes, dressing him in his new _Cars_ shirt and pants. Making sure he brushed his teeth, I instruct him to go to the bathroom one more time before bed as I throw on my own pajama pants. I do my usual nighttime bathroom routine before crawling into bed with Masen and switching off the light.

With Masen snuggling up close to me, and my arm wrapped securely around him, I drift off into a peaceful nights sleep for the first time in months.

**A/N: Thanks for reading. I really enjoy writing this story. I don't know when I'll be updating again because I haven't started the next chapter yet, but I don't anticipate it to be too long. Please review, even if you're just commenting on a grammatical error or something. Plus, it gives me incentive to keep writing. Cheers!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Wake up," I hear as someone nudges my side.

"Five more minutes," I mumble into my pillow, snuggling closer to the warm body next to me.

"But I'm hungry. Please wake up."

Opening my eyes, I find Masen trapped under my arm looking at me pleadingly. "Please," he pouts. "If you feed me, you can go back to sleep. That's what mommy always did."

I frown at him before I release him from my grasp. "Alright, I'm up," I say sitting up and stretching. "We'll eat, and then you need to shower," I say pretending to smell something bad.

He giggles at me jumping out of bed bouncing beside me. He grabs my hand dragging me out of bed; I smile at his exuberance. "Ms. Alice got Captain Crunch yesterday, can I have some?"

I chuckle, "sure, let's go see where she put it." Masen continues pulling me into the kitchen portion of the suite, only releasing me when he starts opening cupboards looking for his cereal. In the meantime, I search for bowls and silverware.

"Found it," he exclaims, holding up the box triumphantly. I chuckle and grab it from him pouring two bowls for us.

"Go sit at the table," I point. I find the milk and fill them up before carrying them over to an excited looking Masen. We sit across from each other eating our breakfast silently. Masen happily munches his cereal while gazing at the back of the cereal box. I watch him with a content smile thinking how easy it is to please him. _Perhaps this parenting thing won't be too hard_.

After we're done eating, I put our dishes in the sink and bring Masen to the bathroom. "It's shower time bud. Nana said you wouldn't shower last night, how come?"

His lower lip starts to tremble as he looks up at me with fearful eyes, "I don't want to shower," he says with tears starting to fall down his cheeks.

I sit on top of the toilet seat, holding Masen in front of me. I reach my hand up and wipe a tear off of his face, "why don't you want to take a shower?" He shakes his head at me looking at a spot over my head. "Hey, look at me," I say turning his face back towards me. "Are you… _afraid_ to take a shower," I ask trying to understand.

He starts shaking in my arms, so I pick him up and place him on my lap. I rub soothing circles on his back as he leans into my shoulder clutching my shirt tightly. "Would you rather take a bath?"

He shakes his head vigorously, "no," he sobs clinging to me even more. "I don't like choking on the water."

"What," I ask confused.

His words are slightly muffled by my shirt when he replies, "Laurent would hold my head under the water when he rinsed the soap from my hair. I don't like choking on the water," he repeats.

Horror stricken, I hold him even closer to me while stroking his hair offering him comforting words. "I'll never do that to you Masen. I won't let anyone _ever_ do that to you again, do understand me." He nods into my shoulder. "How about if you shower with me, would that be okay?"

"I guess," he mumbles.

"Okay," I say releasing him from my grip. I stand up and start removing my clothes, watching as Masen warily copies my movements. I turn the shower on, checking to make sure the water is at a comfortable temperature before stepping in. Shortly after, Masen cautiously follows me, standing nervously in the corner.

I grab the shampoo squirting some into my palm, scrubbing it into my scalp. I repeat the process with Masen then rinse the suds from our hair. I take our bath poufs, that Alice so graciously purchased for us, and douse them with body wash. I hand Masen his as I wash my body, telling him to do the same. I wonder what kind of monster could have possibly watched over my son that he can't even take a bath or shower without fear that someone might try drowning him.

After we rinse off, I step out and quickly wrap a towel around my waist before grabbing another and motion for Masen to come out. I gently dry him off then wrap the towel around his body, trapping his arms underneath. He grasps the top with one hand under his chin, holding the two sides together.

We walk into our bedroom and I pick out fresh clothes for us to wear for the day. Once we are dressed, I take Masen's hand and walk into the living area. While we were getting ready, my parents had woken up and eaten breakfast.

"Good morning," I greet as I sit down on the sofa. Masen looks around taking in his options, before climbing onto my lap and sitting. I smile at him and wrap my arm around him pulling him closer.

"Good morning dear," mom says smiling fondly at us. I give her a cheesy grin in response. "Morning Masen, how did you sleep?"

"Good, I ate Captain Crunch for breakfast," he gushes. I chuckle at his response; he must really like that stuff. I make a mental note to always have it on hand.

Looking at the time I grimace, "I have to get going soon."

Masen turns to me panicked, "where are you going?"

"I have to go to work soon," I explain. "Perhaps if you're good, nana and papa will bring you by to watch for a little bit, or for lunch."

"I'll be good, I promise. Can I come with you," he pleads.

I frown at him, "no, I'm sorry bud. I wish you could, but I wouldn't be able to watch you while I'm working."

"Okay," he says matching my frown.

"We can find something fun to do today while he's at work," my dad tries to cheer him up, avoiding calling me his dad. _I hope those results come soon._ "Alice got you some cool toys we can try out."

"I guess," Masen grumbles.

I smile sadly at him, wiping the hair from his eyes. Deciding it's time to go, I set Masen on the couch beside me and stand up. "I'll see you later, okay bud? Have fun with nana and papa." I say goodbye to my parents and leave for work.

It's ten o'clock by the time I stroll onto set and get my makeup started. Alice greets me with my morning coffee and script, then launches into her spiel for the day. "I have placed an add for your nann- … new _position_," she offers questioningly, looking worriedly at the other staff around us. I nod my head in understanding, mouthing "thank you," to her for not sharing my secret. Even though there may be speculation with him being around the last couple of days, I don't want to confirm or deny anything until I get the paternity results back, and even then I probably won't say anything because I like to keep my privacy.

"I have gotten a couple inquires already, however it has only been a day or so, so I anticipate more coming in throughout the next few days. No one is sticking out yet, so I don't think I have found _the one_. But I'm not too worried about it at the moment; I'll keep you updated when I find out anything new. I also haven't heard from Mr. Jenkins, although he does have your private number I believe, so he may contact you that way. Um… I think that's all I have for you right now," she says scrolling through her phone.

"Thank you Alice, my parents may be coming by today, but they didn't know for sure. I think they are just waiting to see how the day goes first."

"Sounds good, I'll make sure to call Esme and set up any transportation they may need for the day."

Shortly after, I'm off to start filming for the day. During our afternoon break, my parents and Masen join me for lunch in my trailer. They made some plans to go to the park later, since the weather is fairly decent in Seattle for once. I'm secretly jealous about all the time my parents get to spend with my son. I'm his father, it should be me taking him to the park, spending the day with him, and getting to know him. The end of this movie can't come soon enough.

The rest of the evening drags on. I've never disliked my job more than I do now, now that I actually have someone to go home to every night and that depends on me to be there for them. I make a note to call my agent tomorrow to tell her to lay off new movie scripts for the time being. It's not that I disliked my job before Masen came into my life, but now I just have new priorities.

I finally make it back to the hotel close to midnight; thankfully I have tomorrow off. I slide my key card in the door, dragging myself in and yawning loudly. All is dark except for a small lamp near the sofa. I walk over to turn it off and notice my father sleeping with a book propped up on his chest. I gently shake him awake, "you should go to bed. You'll be far more comfortable than sleeping on the couch."

"I was waiting up for you," he explains. "I just wanted to tell you that I have to go home tomorrow. I didn't know if I would see you in the morning so I wanted to say goodbye."

"Oh," I say rubbing my eyes tiredly. "I have the day off tomorrow actually, so perhaps we can do something before you leave," I trail off.

"My flight leaves at noon, so we could do something before then."

"Good, so how was Masen today," I ask.

"He was really good. We didn't do a whole lot, but he enjoyed the park I think. He was a little shy at first, but he eventually opened up and was running around in no time."

I smile, "that's good. I wish I could have been there," I say running a hand through my hair.

He smiles sadly at me, "he's a great kid Edward. I'm sorry that you've had to miss out on so much of his life already. But you're doing a great job, I'm proud of you. You are really stepping up to be the father that that boy needs," he says motioning to my bedroom door. "I wish I could stay longer, but I have to get back to the hospital."

"I know, I understand. I'm just happy that you were able to come at all; I know how busy you can get there sometimes. It means a lot to me that you're here."

He stands and embraces me in a strong hug, "me too son, me too." He releases me from his grip and pats my shoulder, "sleep good, I'll see you in the morning."

"Night dad, love you."

I turn off the light once he his safely in his room, before walking cautiously toward my own. I gently open the door, sneaking in as to not disturb Masen. I find him slightly propped up against the headboard, as if he was waiting up for me again, and my pillow clutched between his arms slouching over it. I chuckle at the cute sight as I sleepily remove my clothing before crawling into bed with my son. I slowly pry my pillow from his grasp as he stirs awake. He blinks a couple times before focusing on me, "hey buddy, it's just me. Go back to sleep."

"I was waiting up for you, I didn't mean to fall asleep without you. I'm sorry," he mumbles.

I stroke his cheek tenderly, "it's alright bud; you shouldn't wait up for me though. It's late; if you wait for me all the time you won't get enough sleep."

"But I like knowing that you're here when I'm sleeping."

"How about if I wake you when I get back so you know that I'm here," I bargain with him.

He has a look of concentration on his face as he ponders my proposition, "alright, but only if you promise that you'll wake me."

"I promise," I say leaning in to kiss his forehead before I realize what I'm doing. I quickly pull back before I make contact. _That was a close one_. I don't know how many times over the last couple days I have wanted kiss him or ask him to call me "Dad" or introduce him as my son. I just don't want to bring him any more pain if things don't turn out how I think they are.

I lay down pulling the covers over me as Masen snuggles into my side, resisting the urge once again to kiss him. "Night Masen."

"Night," he slurs already half asleep.

A knock at the door wakes me the next morning. I grumble unintelligently into my pillow, pulling Masen closer. I hear the door open and open en eye peering at the intruder. My mother is peaking her head around the door giving us a pleased smile. "Boys, I have breakfast ready. Come out so it doesn't get cold," she says closing the door behind her.

Masen leans into me, "I don't want to get up," he grumbles closing his eyes and trying to fall back to sleep.

I smile at him stroking his hair. "We should get up bud. Papa has to go home today so we should spend sometime with him before he has to leave. And we don't want nana's breakfast to get cold." Sniffing loudly to coax him out of bed, "I think I smell pancakes."

His eyes pop open, "I love pancakes," he smiles hugely.

I laugh at his sudden excitement. "Well then, time to get up I think." We both climb out of bed and use the bathroom before heading into the kitchen. I sit next to Masen as Esme places two pancakes in front of each of us. My father is sitting across from us sipping his orange juice and reading the newspaper.

"Morning dad, anything interesting this morning," I ask taking a bite of food.

"No, not a whole lot. There have been a few unexplained bodies found over the past few months that they think could be linked, but they don't have anything concrete right now."

"Hopefully they will find whoever is responsible. We shouldn't be here for too much longer, so that's good."

"Yes it is," he agrees placing the paper on the table. "I was thinking we could see the Space Needle this morning before I have to fly out. How does that sound?"

"That sounds good to me, I haven't seen it yet. Do you want to go Masen?"

He shrugs while concentrating on eating his pancakes. The adults laugh at his response, but I suppose he doesn't really know what the Space Needle is. We quickly finish our meal and get dressed for the day. My dad contacted Mike while we were getting ready, so by the time we are in the lobby, he is waiting for us. The customary black Mercedes I'm use to is replaced by a black SUV Cadillac. Carlisle's luggage is deposited in the back so we can drop him off at the airport when we're done.

When we arrive at the Space Needle, a representative greets us and takes us directly to the top. I typically don't like using my fame to get me things, and especially now that I have Masen I have to be careful about what sort of things I accept. I don't want him to think that he can get whatever he wants just because of who I am and who he is now; but seeing how Carlisle has a flight to catch, I allow the special treatment.

We view Seattle from the top of the needle, and I watch happily as Masen takes in his surroundings in awe. Truthfully, I spent more time watching him then looking at the view of Seattle. After a half hour or so, we climb back into the vehicle and drop Carlisle off at the airport.

I step out of the car giving my father the typical man hug, accompanied by the shoulder pat and everything. "I'll miss you, thanks for coming."

"Anytime son. You've made your mother and I proud. Perhaps when you get done filming, you guys can come visit us in Chicago."

"Maybe. I think that I'll want to get him settled back in LA first though. I haven't really explained to him that this isn't our home."

"Yes, I suppose that makes sense. I'll see you soon hopefully. You better not let it be so long before we see you again, especially now we have a grandson that we want to see just as much as you."

I chuckle running my hand up the back of my neck, "of course," I say motioning Masen over to us. "Say goodbye to grandpa."

"Bye papa."

I see my fathers eyes alight with happiness, "goodbye Masen. I'm so happy to have met you. I'll see you soon, okay," he says hugging my son.

"Okay."

I grab Masen's hand leading him back to the car to give my parents some privacy. Once my mother rejoins us, we wave bye to Carlisle and drive off. When we got back to the hotel, we eat a small lunch together after which my mother excuses herself to take a nap, subtly giving Masen and I alone time.

Suddenly being alone with Masen for the afternoon seems quite daunting. Not that I don't want to spend time with my son, but knowing that I have to… _entertain_ him for once is intimidating. Anytime I have spent with him in the past has been limited or there was a goal in mind. We were either eating, sleeping, getting ready, or watching TV. My schedule hasn't permitted me much spare time to spend with him, and now I find myself with him for the rest of the afternoon. _What am I going to do?_

I sit on the couch and pat the seat next to me for Masen. "So Masen, what do you want to do today?"

He shrugs, "whatever you're doing."

"Well I don't have to work today, so we can do whatever you want. What did you with your mom?"

He tenses beside me, "I stayed in my room. I wasn't allowed out; I could only come out when Laurent wasn't there."

I grind my teeth at the mention of that scum; it seems at every turn he has ruined something in my son's life. Wanting to comfort him, I pull him onto my lap and gently stroke his back. I feel like I constantly have to comfort him for the misdeeds of Laurent, and therefore, Tanya for letting him be around Masen. What kind of mother lets that type of person be around her child?

"Things are going to be different from now on Masen. I will never hurt you, or lock you up anywhere. Laurent will never come near you ever again, I promise. I may not be here with you all the time because of my job, but whoever is with you will not harm you. Being it grandma and grandpa, Alice, or someone else. Do you understand?"

He nods his head against my shoulder. "I understand," he mumbles. "Thank you for saving me from him. I promise I'll be on my best behavior all the time, for as long as you keep me."

Taken aback by his last statement, I pull him into a fierce hug. "Forever. I'll keep you forever Masen. You're not going anywhere and neither am I," I say determined to keep him regardless if he's my biological son or not, because at this point it doesn't matter either way.

I draw him away from me slightly and move the hair from his eyes. "So do you like sports," I ask trying to redirect his attention to happier topics.

"I don't know much about them," he admits.

"Hm… well, I've always been a fan of soccer myself, would you like go to the park and kick a ball around for a while?" 

A grin appears on his face as he nods his head vigorously, "yeah, I'd like that."

I smile at him as I call Alice to make travel arrangements for us. After talking with her I also realized that I don't own a soccer ball. Once Masen and I climb in the car, we make a quick stop at the store to pick up a soccer ball.

We spend a couple hours at the park kicking the ball around, talking and laughing, and having a good time. As the afternoon wears on, we walk around and stop at an ice cream shop to get some cones. I order oatmeal cookie while Masen gets cookie dough.

"Don't tell nana that we got ice cream. She'll tell us we've spoiled our dinner," I tell Masen, shuddering at the thought of mom reprimanding me in front of him.

He laughs, "I won't tell."

I smile at him and wrap my arm around his shoulder while we're walking back to the car. I thank Mike as we enter the car to return to the hotel. When we reach the room, I find my mother preparing dinner for us. I give Masen a secret wink when my mother asks if we worked up an appetite at the park. After a couple minutes of informing her about our afternoon, I excuse myself to call my agent.

"Jane Volturi speaking," she answers, after I was transferred through to her.

"Hello Jane, Edward Cullen calling."

"Oh Edward, I've been meaning to call. How's the film coming?"

"It's coming along nicely, but that's not what I'm calling about. Perhaps I should have called sooner but some things have come up that I need to address with you."

I hear some shuffling in the background, "okay, I'm all ears."

"A social worker approached me a couple days ago, bringing news about the passing of a friend of mine from high school. She left behind a child, and as it turns out, I'm his father. So he is now currently living with me. I'm sure you were aware that he was trying to find me, because I don't know how else he would have found me here, but anyway.

"The reason I'm calling is that I don't want any new scripts to look at. After this movie is over, I believe I have one other under contract. Once they are done, I plan on taking a leave of absence so I can look after him properly," I explain.

"Oh Edward, I'm so sorry to hear about your friend," she says sincerely. "I had no idea you had a son. Take all the time you need. I'm sure you'll have plenty of scripts to choose from upon your return."

"Thank you. It was a shocking development that's for sure. I never even knew he existed until a couple days ago."

"How do you plan on handling the media with him?"

"Oh god, I have been so caught up in everything that it sort of slipped my mind. I was concerned with people on set questioning it, but I forgot about everyone else. We were out all day today too. We were at the Space Needle with my parents and then we were at the park all afternoon," I trail off. "Shit, I didn't even think about us getting photographed."

"Calm down Edward. The paparazzi haven't been following you there yet and it's been almost three weeks. I'm sure no one got any shots; if they did we would know about it. My office and Heidi's office in publicity would be bombarded with phone calls to get any kind of confirmation or a statement. So I believe you're safe for now. But I would suggest that until you've decided how much you want exposed, to limit your time in public, at least with your son," she says calmly, slightly easing my worries.

"Thanks Jane, you always know what to say to calm me down. As of right now, I don't want anything getting out to the press. I'm still waiting on the results of a paternity test, and I don't want any of that reaching the public."

"I understand. I'll talk with Alice and Heidi and we'll get everything taken care of. Just lay low for a while."

"Will do Jane, thanks again. I have to get going but I'll talk to you soon. Give my regards to Alec."

"Certainly, talk to you soon Edward." And with that I hang up.

I run my hands through my hair, exhaling slowly. This just got a lot more complicated. It was always in the back of my mind what would happen when someone found about Masen, but I just forced it back thinking I would worry about it when it came to that. But I was ignorant; someone could have photographed us today so easily and it never even crossed my mind until speaking with Jane.

I wish this never would have happened. Masen doesn't deserve a life like this, of being photographed and being in the public eye. I knew what I was getting into when I signed up for the job, but to place the public's scrutiny on my six-year-old son, I shudder. I know he probably won't understand now anyway, but he will someday. And once word gets out, he'll forever be known as "Edward Cullen's son" or "Masen Cullen, Edward Cullen's son," not just as himself, Masen Cullen.

As much I wish it never happened, I can't bring myself to regret it either. I feel like Masen has brought part of me back to life, back to reality and what's important in life. I would never give him up.

After giving myself a slight pep talk, I reenter the living area and find Masen sitting on the couch while Esme is still cooking. I decide to join Masen, and upon further observation, find him sleeping soundly. I smile as I cover him with a blanket, lay down myself, and close my eyes.

Fifteen minutes later, Esme wakes us up telling us dinner is ready. We all sit around the table, chatting about the day. Masen is still rather reserved when other people are present, but he's slowly opening up around Esme.

"I called Rosalie while you were out," my mother says, catching me off guard by the change in topic.

Raising a questioning brow I say, "oh?"

"Yes, and I explained to her that you had some news to share with her," she says giving me a meaningful stare. I wince at her accusation. Rosalie and I have a very love-hate relationship. We're on one day, and the next we're at each other throats.

"I told her that I would be here for another week or so, and she agreed to come. She'll be here tomorrow. I spoke with Alice and she arranged for her transportation and lodging."

I run a hand nervously through my hair, exhaling loudly. "I forgot about telling Rose, but I suppose it's best that she's coming. Better to tell her now then her finding out from the press."

"Yes, that is what I was thinking. She would never forgive you if she found out that way."

I nod my head in agreement. "And just when I thought things would settle down for a couple of days," I say laughing humorlessly. "This will be an interesting visit. Is she bringing Emmett?"

"I don't know, she didn't say anything. I'll guess we'll find out tomorrow."

After dinner, we all relax in the living room and watch a movie on TV. As Masen starts falling asleep once again, I say goodnight to my mother and carry Masen to our room. I set him on the bed and undress him, putting him in his pajamas. I instruct him to go brush his teeth as I get myself ready for bed.

Once in bed, Masen mumbles, "I had fun playing soccer today. Can we do it again tomorrow?"

I feel a pang in my chest at his request, "I wish we could bud, but I have to go back to work tomorrow. You could always ask nana to take you," I offer instead.

"Does she know how to play soccer?"

I chuckle to myself as I picture my mother playing any type of sport. "Actually, maybe that's not such a good idea. We can go again another time, but perhaps not until we go home."

He looks at me perplexed, "home? Aren't we home now?"

"No this isn't our home. I live in LA, _we_ live in LA," I quickly correct. "We are only here because this is where I had to be for work. You know I'm an actor right," I ask for clarification. He nods his head in the affirmative. "Well, when I'm filming a movie, sometimes I have to travel to different places," I explain.

"Like for example, if the movie takes place at a beach, we would have to film somewhere that has a beach because not everywhere has one. Does that make sense," I question.

"Yes, I guess so."

"So the place that I work for pays for me to live here while we're filming this movie. When we're done, we'll get to go home to my house in LA. You'll have your own room there and everything," I tell him. I'll have to remember to tell Alice about redecorating one of the rooms for Masen.

"I don't need my own room, I can share with you."

I smile at him, "you won't always want to share a room with me. But we can discuss that more later, right now we should get some rest."

"Okay, goodnight," he yawns snuggling close to me.

"Goodnight bud, sweet dreams."

**A/N: I wanted to update yesterday or the day before, but I have been trying to entertain my brother. He had surgery on his shoulder on Thursday so he can't do anything, so I've been keeping him company. So with that in mind, I don't know when I'll get a chance to write more. Last night we rented six movies, so we'll be busy for a little while. That is probably more than any of you needed to know, but I thought I would let you know that it might be a few days before the next update. Hope you enjoy.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Having Masen around is the best sleeping pill imaginable. You always hear parents' complaining about what a nightmare it is to have young children, but I find it amazingly relaxing. It could be that I've only been a parent for a few days, but I have gotten such good sleep since Masen has come into my life. That may seem impossible to some people, but having him sleeping snuggled into my side is the best feeling in the world.

I awoke before the alarm this morning, making sure to turn it off so it didn't wake Masen. I look at the innocent child in my arms sleeping soundly and smile serenely at him. After several minutes, I gently extract myself from Masen's arms, and dress for the day. I quietly exit the room, and pour myself a bowl of cereal.

"Daddy!" I hear a bone-chilling scream.

Startled, I drop my spoon, tipping my bowl over in the process. I jump up from my seat and bolt to my room, throwing the door open. I find Masen in the fetal position on the floor sobbing uncontrollably. I quickly sweep him in my arms and cradle him to my chest while sitting on the floor.

"Shh, I'm here Masen, what is it? What's wrong," I ask frantically, trying to soothe him simultaneously. He continues crying into my chest, holding my shirt in a death grip while I run a hand through his hair holding him to me. "Masen, you have to tell me what's wrong so I can fix it," I plead, tears starting to accumulate in my own eyes.

Eventually, he quiets down and I only hear an occasional whimper coming from him. "Is he alright," my mom asks from the doorway startling me. I was so caught up in comforting Masen that I forgot about the world around me.

I look up at her wearily, "he's calmed down some, if that's what you're asking. But I have no idea what set him off," I whisper, hoping not to frighten Masen. "What time is it, can you call Alice and inform her that I'll be late."

"Of course, do you need anything else?"

I shake my head, "no, not right now." She nods and exits the room.

"Masen buddy," I say pulling him back slightly so I can look at his face, "are you okay?"

He nods as more tears silently make their way down his face, dripping onto his shirt. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"I woke up and you weren't there. I checked in the bathroom and you weren't in there either. I thought you left me," he cries burrowing into my arms more. "I promise to be good, just please don't leave me," he begs.

Heartbroken, I pull him closer to me willing my own tears to not fall, "I won't leave you Masen, I promise. I'm sorry I scared you this morning. I have to go to work, so I was just eating breakfast. I didn't want to wake you," I explain.

"You were going to leave and not say goodbye," he states.

"I didn't want to wake you Masen, you need your sleep."

"I don't get to see you when I go to bed and then you're gone when I wake up too. During the day you're at work, I never get to see you," he sniffles. "Don't you want me?"

My tears finally fall from my eyes, as I bring his head to the crook of my neck rocking him back and forth. "I'll always want you Masen," I whisper in his ear. "Like I told you yesterday, I'm not going anywhere." I draw him away from me so I can look at his face, "how about if we have breakfast together every morning no matter what? That way you'll see me in the mornings and I'll make sure to wake you when I come back at night. Does that sound alright?"

"I guess so," he says softly fidgeting with his hands.

I give him a small smile and wipe the tears from both of our faces, "so are you hungry?"

He nods as a little smile makes its way to his face. I stand up still holding Masen and bring him into the kitchen. I notice the mess I made when I ran to Masen is all cleaned up and mother is busy making us something to eat.

She turns when she hears us approach. Giving us a smile she asks, "everything alright?"

"Yes it is. Did you speak with Alice?"

"Yes, she said she would take care of it but to make sure you're there as soon as possible."

I nod, "I'm just going to have something to eat quick and then I'll head out," I say depositing Masen onto a chair at the table.

I quickly eat and say goodbye to Masen. I pull my mom off to the side to speak with her, "can you bring him by set when Rosalie gets here? If you can hold off until lunch I think that would be best. If she gets anxious just tell her to rest from her jetlag or whatever. I don't want her to see him before I can talk to her."

"Okay, I'll see what I can do. I might need Alice's help later then."

"I'll let her know when I see her. Thanks mom." I kiss her cheek and hastily make my way to the awaiting car downstairs.

When I arrive on set, I am swiftly rushed through makeup and wardrobe before heading to location. I am there for mere minutes when the camera starts rolling. The morning goes by quickly, and before I know it, we're released for lunch. However, before I can escape, Aro calls me over.

"Aro," I greet tersely. Aro and I have been on uneven footing since shortly after filming started. I don't know what he has against me, but I don't have it in me to care anymore; I have more important things to worry about now.

"Edward, you have been distracted from work the past few days. I thought giving you the day off yesterday would snap you out of it, but then you show up late this morning. You came highly recommended by my colleagues, and I have yet to see why. I don't have time or money to waste on this project, so I expect you to step up and act like a professional. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir," I reply. "The reason I have been so distracted the last couple days is because I found out I have a son. His mother died recently and now it is my responsibility to look after him. So if you would like me perform up to par, I need more reasonable working hours so I can look after him."

He looks surprised before quickly composing his features, "I'm sorry to her about her passing, but my hands are tied when it comes to this film. We are on a tight schedule as it is, but I'll see what I can do. With that being said, you need to step it up Mr. Cullen; if you want to wrap things up sooner, you need to be at the top of your game so we don't have to redo scenes multiple times."

"I'll do my best, thank you for your understanding."

After talking with Aro, I quickly make my way to my trailer where Alice and Masen are waiting outside. "Hello," I say questioningly. "Why are you guys waiting out here?"

"Your mom and Rose are inside."

"Oh, I'll be right back then."

I open the door, step in, and see mom, Rose, and Emmett sitting on the couch chatting away. "Hello everyone."

The chatter stops as they all look at me. Emmett stands giving me a man hug, "Hey Ed, how's it going? Haven't seen you in a while."

Emmett and Rose have been married for almost two years now. Rose is a model, specializing primarily in photo shoots. She does however, do the occasional runway when she is specifically requested. Emmett, my bear of a brother-in-law, is a former model but recently called it quits and decided to try out acting for a while. It was through modeling that they met; they did a photo shoot together.

"Things are going well, how are you doing."

"I can't complain," he says wrapping his arm around Rose's shoulder.

"Rosalie, how are you," I ask, speaking to her for the first time in months.

She crosses her arms over her chest, "Oh cut the pleasantries Cullen, why did _mom_ call me up telling me that _you_ had news to share," she sneers.

"Cullen? Wow you must be really pissed, huh?" At that remark, she stomps her foot glaring at me. I hold my hands up in surrender, "Alright, alright. I'm sorry I didn't call you myself, but I have been pretty busy the past few days. I want you to meet someone, they're very important to me and I don't want you taking your hostility out on them."

Rosalie's features soften minutely, now looking at me more questioningly than anything. "Oh, Eddie finally has a girl he wants us to meet," Emmett rubs his hands together.

"Don't call me Eddie. They're right outside, do you want to meet them," I ask being intentionally vague on who it is they are about to meet.

"Just let them in," Rose says exasperated, "we promise to be… _friendly_."

I smirk at her, knowing exactly how she would act if it was actually a woman I was introducing them to. I open the door and pick Masen up, giving him the comfort of being in my arms when meeting new people. I return to the trailer and see Rose and Emmett's eyes bugging out of their heads. I laugh quietly to myself, doing a little dance of victory in my head for surprising them.

"Rose, Emmett, I would like to introduce you to my _son_ Masen. Masen this your Aunt Rosalie and Uncle Emmett," I say pointing to the two of them. After the past two days, I decided to introduce Masen as my son because I want to make sure that he knows he isn't going anywhere, that I'm not going anywhere.

Rosalie is the first snap out of her trance, "Hi, Masen. It's so nice to meet you," she says gently, extending her hand. "You can call me Rose if you would like."

He inspects her briefly from his position in my arms before shaking her hand, "you don't look like a flower."

The adults laugh at his innocent comment. Rose smiles hugely at him before Emmett steps up. "Hey little man, you can call me Uncle Em, how does that sound," he says smiling goofily at him.

Masen giggles at his jovial mood, "okay," he says shaking his hand.

I set Masen down, telling him to go play with grandma so I can talk to Rose and Emmett. "You have a lot of explaining to do," Rose says giving me the stink eye. I quickly tell them about Tanya and the fire, excluding information about Laurent and the abuse. That's not something I want to openly share with people, even if she is my sister.

"Wow, I can't believe she had your child and didn't even tell you. And I'm even more surprised that she didn't try getting money from you when you got famous."

"I know," I say running my hand through my hair. "She probably knew that I would want to be part of his life once I knew about him. Of course I would have given her money, that wouldn't have been an issue, but that wouldn't have been enough for me."

Rose approaches me and gives me hug, "he's adorable Edward. I'm glad you have him, you needed someone in your life."

I furrow my eyebrows at her, "I don't know what you're talking about."

She smiles sadly at me, "you've been quite unhappy for the past few years Edward. I can see it in your eyes how much happier you are already with him in your life. You're not as lonely anymore."

"I was never lonely. I have people around me all the time."

"You can still feel alone even when you're surrounded by people. Trust me, I know the feeling," she says looking at Emmett lovingly. "I felt that way until I met Emmett, he brought me back."

I smile at her, "I know he did."

"Speaking of significant others, how's the new girl liking Masen."

I laugh humorlessly, "what girl," I question. "The one that walked in, took one look at him, and said 'I'm too young to be someone's mother.' Well I told her to pack her shit and leave if that's what you're wondering. I would have done it soon regardless, she's a complete idiot."

She laughs, "no shit Sherlock. You really should talk to Alice or me before you take these girls out Edward. We hear all the Hollywood gossip; we can warn you before you waste your time with them."

I roll my eyes at her, "I'll keep that in mind. I'm not really in the market at the moment, so don't expect a call anytime soon."

Half a sandwich and a cookie later, I excuse myself to return to work. The rest of the afternoon goes by quickly as I solely focus on the task at hand. Once we're released and I'm in trailer getting ready to head back to the hotel, Alice pops her head in.

"Hey Edward, I just wanted to catch you before you head out. I interviewed a few applicants today; I narrowed the selection down to two candidates. I was wondering if you wanted to do the final interviews tomorrow."

"Yes that works, set one up in the morning and the other on my lunch break."

"Excellent, I'll see you in the morning then. Have a good night Edward."

"You too, and thank you for everything Alice."

She smiles, "don't mention it. Now get back to your son and family."

"Yes ma'am," I salute, following behind her to head to my awaiting car.

When I reach the hotel, it's a little after eight o'clock. "Mr. Cullen," the front desk person calls when I enter the lobby, "a package arrived for you today."

I stroll over to the desk and accept the large envelope, thanking the employee. While in the elevator, I rip the seal open and take out the papers inside. I run my eyes over them quickly, figuring out they are the paternity results. I flip through a couple sheets, trying to find the answer when I come across what looks like three horizontal bar graphs. One has Masen's name, one has mine, and the remaining one says anonymous donor. Next to my name it says there is 99.9% chance that I am Masen's biological father compared to the unknown donor.

Smiling as I open the door to the room, I throw the papers on the end table near the door, and sweep my eyes over the room looking for Masen. I find him sitting on the couch next to Rosalie who is nestled into Emmett's side. He looks over at me when he hears the noise and smiles brightly at me, only increasing my smile.

I rush over to him and lift him from his position, hugging him to me tightly. "You're mine," I say, not caring that he won't understand my rambling. "No one can ever take you away from me."

He smiles, touching my cheek with his hand, "are you mine too?"

Tears come to my eyes at his simple question, "yes son, I'm yours." All the emotion from the past few days finally catching up with me, I feel like a weight has finally been lifted off my shoulders that I have been carrying around.

I take Masen's seat on the couch, and place him on my lap, not willing to let go of him just yet. I finally look around me at my other family members, only to see them all looking at me strangely. I smile back at them, "I just got the results when I walked in the lobby, he's definitely mine," I explain.

My mother sniffles as she rushes over and embraces Masen and I, kissing both our cheeks. "I'm so happy for you Edward. Welcome to the family Masen."

He looks at me confused, "I don't have a family anymore, mommy died."

"You definitely have a family Masen, I'm your family," I tell him. "Even though your mom died, you still have me. And Nana, Papa, Uncle Em, and Aunt Rose are all your family too."

He looks around at everyone surrounding him, "cool," he eventually says.

When everyone starts talking, I quickly order some room service and relax into the sofa. An hour later after I've eaten, I say goodnight to everyone, pulling Masen with me. We both go through our night routines, and then climb into bed. Masen cuddles into my side as I wrap my arm around him.

"Goodnight Masen, I love you," I whisper into his hair resting under my chin.

"Night Daddy," he yawns, "love you."

I smile kissing the top of his head, "sweet dreams." I quickly fall into a deep sleep, most likely smiling like an idiot.

Then next morning, the alarm rings in my ear, alerting me it's time to wake up. I swiftly turn the annoying sound off, wishing I had more time to sleep. I think over the previous night and smile. I rub Masen's back, trying to rouse him from his sleep. "Masen bud, if you want to eat breakfast with me before I go to work, you have to get up now," I whisper into his ear.

He slowly opens his eyes, looking around. He gives me a tired smile before sitting up. I hop out of bed and run to the bathroom. Finding the bedroom empty upon my return, I move to the kitchen and find Masen with his box of cereal under one arm and a gallon of milk slipping from his other hand. I quickly go to his side, grabbing the milk just as it was about to slip from his grasp.

"Next time, get one thing at a time bud. We don't want to make a mess, daddy's too tired in the morning to clean up big messes," I say, relishing in calling myself his father and knowing for a fact it's true.

"Okay," he says meekly.

"No need to worry Masen," I say messing up his hair, "you just have to be careful." I grab a bowl and spoon for each of us, filling them up.

When it's time for me to go, I kiss Masen on the top of his head telling him to go wake up grandma. I wait until he knocks on her door and speaks with her before calling to him, "bye Masen. See you later, I love you."

"Bye, love you too," he smiles back at me.

I arrive earlier than normal, making sure that I'll have plenty of time to interview the first applicant before I'm called to set. As I enter my trailer, I find Alice already waiting for me with my coffee and usual stack of papers.

"Good morning Edward. How was your night," she asks.

"It was great. I got the paternity results, Masen is definitely a Cullen," I smile.

"Oh, that's such great news Edward," she says embracing me in a hug. "Not that I had any doubts on the contrary. He's practically your mini me."

I chuckle at her response, "yes we do have very similar looks that's for sure. How was your night Alice?"

"Boring as usual," she winks. "Anyway, back to business. Along with your script," she says pointing to the stack of papers still in my hand, "are the resumes for the individuals you are interviewing today. The first one is Ms. Cope, who should be here any minute now. And the second is Ms. Swan. Did you need anything before Ms. Cope gets here?"

"No, but thank you for asking," I say distractedly, looking over the resumes in front of me.

"Alright, I'm going to go meet her at the gate. I'll be back soon."

Ten minutes later, a knock on the door brings me out of my stupor. Alice opens the door and steps in, followed by an older looking woman who looks to be in her early forties.

"Mr. Cullen, this is Ms. Cope," she introduces.

I stand and shake her hand, "pleasure to meet you Ms. Cope. Please take a seat."

"Thank you Mr. Cullen," she says nervously.

I give her my crooked smile, while I start peppering her with information and questions about the position. After a half hour or so of talking, I thank her for her time and dismiss her.

"She doesn't seem too bad," I say to Alice once she returns from taking Ms. Cope back to the gate. "A little older than the nanny I had in mind. I just wonder if she will be able to keep up with him. But she meets all the qualifications I suppose."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. There is still Ms. Swan this afternoon, she's younger, but definitely doesn't have the experience that Ms. Cope has."

"Hm… well I'll just have to wait until that interview. I should get to makeup, if any new promising resumes come in before then, make sure to let me know."

"Of course, I'll see you later," she waves, typing frantically on her phone.

I remember to remain focused after my discussion with Aro yesterday. The last thing I need is another tongue lashing from him. Plus he's right, the more I can focus, the less time it will take to get the shot. The morning runs smoothly, and soon enough I'm making my way back to the trailer.

As I open the door and step in, I realize that Alice is not alone. Sitting next to her on the couch is a young woman with wavy mahogany hair. I would guess her to be younger than me, I try to recall her age from her resume but come up empty. "Mr. Cullen, this is Ms. Isabella Swan," Alice introduces.

"Mr. Cullen, thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me," she says after releasing my hand.

"Not a problem Ms. Swan. But if you could excuse my rudeness, I'm on my lunch break so I will be eating during the interview. You are free to help yourself to anything you would like as well."

"Oh, thank you for the offer, but I already ate."

"Fair enough, let's get started. As I am sure you're aware by the secrecy of my identity before today, this will not be a typical nanny position. If you're hired, you will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement saying you will not give details about my or my son's life to anyone, especially to the press. Obviously there is more to it than that, but you can read the details about that later.

"Some of this may be repetitive from when you spoke with Alice, but I want to make sure we're on the same page. I live in LA, so I would require you to move there with me once I'm done filming my current role. Would that be a problem for you?"

"No, I have no attachments connecting me here," she says firmly.

I nod and continue, "With my job comes unpredictability. Everyday my work schedule is different, so there would never be a set time frame that you would be working. Because of this, I would expect you move in with me here and in LA. Are you against this?"

"No, I understand completely. That would not be a problem."

After taking a few bites of my lunch I go on, "because of my unpredictable schedule, that would mean that your time off is also unpredictable. Of course if you needed time off for something specific, let me know in advance so I can make alternate arrangements if I'm not available. He'll be going to school in the fall, so you'll have your days mostly to yourself during the school year.

"I obviously travel frequently for my job, and I anticipate Masen coming with on most occasions. I don't really know how smoothly I am going to be able to transition him into my life. If you were unaware, I only recently came into custody, so I don't know how to raise a child, let alone raise a child while traveling the world. I plan on being an integral part in Masen's life, however I know for the next year or more that will be quite difficult with my job. That's where you come in obviously.

"I need someone that will be willing to travel half way around the world to look after a child that is not there own. I noticed that you don't really have much experience being a nanny, what makes you think that you're qualified to look after my son," I ask, taking a few bites during her response.

"I know my experience isn't lengthy by any means, but I practically raised a child from when he was six years old until he was eleven. My father's best friend got into a car accident, killing his wife and two daughters, leaving him paralyzed. Jacob, his son, was at a friend's house at the time. After the accident Billy was distraught and couldn't take care of himself, let alone Jacob.

"I was thirteen at the time and I went over there everyday after school to look after Jake; they were our neighbors. I helped him with his homework, made him dinner, and put him to bed. In the mornings, I made him breakfast and made sure he got to school. Once I got my license, I picked Jake up from practices, did the grocery shopping. I was basically his mother for six years, until I went off to school. Even then, I came back frequently to make sure he was taken care of.

"I graduated last year, and Jake is a sophomore in high school, fully capable of looking after himself now. I may not have multiple references showcasing my talents of looking after children, but I have six plus years of raising one child, who grew into a fine young man," she trails off.

I look at her slack jawed, then look behind her to find Alice smirking at me. I mentally check my facial features to make sure my mouth isn't hanging open or anything. I take a sip of water and clear my throat, "I don't really know how to respond to that to be quite honest. I guess I just have a few questions that I would like you to answer if you don't mind. I just want to make sure of a few things before I commit to anything."

"You can ask whatever you'd like Mr. Cullen," she replies politely.

"What degree did you graduate with?"

She looks slightly confused before answering, "English."

"Ah… I guess I'm surprised it wasn't childhood education, or something along those lines anyway. Is this something you can see yourself doing for a while, or were you only thinking of being a nanny temporally?"

"I was not thinking of it as a temporary position. However, being a nanny is not a career aspiration of mine. I wanted to take some time off before I really delve into my chosen field, and this seemed like a suitable option. I wouldn't mind relocating; I've only lived in Washington and visited Arizona where my mother lives, so moving is not an issue for me."

"The reason I ask is because I don't want to constantly be looking for a new nanny for my son. He hasn't really had much stability in his life thus far, and I don't want all these new people coming into his life every few months or even a year down the road if I'm being honest. I know that a lot can happen in a year, but if you truthfully don't see yourself being around in a year, I would appreciate you withdrawing your resume," I state.

Before she can answer, there is knock at the door as it is swings open and Masen runs in followed by my mother. A smile brightens my face as he catches my eye and launches himself at me. "Hey bud, I wasn't expecting to see you here today."

"I begged nana to bring me. Uncle Em wanted to take me to play football, but she said we had to talk to you first," he explains.

I chuckle at the new carefree look on his features, "I guess that's okay if you go with Uncle Em. As long as it's just you two, I don't want to draw too much attention if Rose is with," I concede. I'm already having a hard time telling him no.

"Thank you," he says giving me another hug. He finally looks around him, and once he sees Ms. Swan, he recoils into my side.

"This is daddy's friend Ms. Swan. Can you say hello," I ask, curious as to how he will respond to her.

"Hi," he says shyly.

She smiles at him extending her hand, "Hi there, my name is Bella, what's your name," she asks.

He takes her hand, "Masen Cullen. Your name sounds like Belle from _Beauty and the Beast_. Does your name mean pretty too?"

Clearly shocked, I see a light blush cross her features. She smiles at him, "yes it does. You're very smart. Do you get that from your daddy?"

He shrugs his shoulders, "that's what mommy always said. You're pretty, just like your name says. My aunt's name is Rose, but I don't think she looks like a flower. You look exactly like your name though."

I laugh at his rambling; that is the most I've seen him interact with someone he's just met. Ms. Swan blushes more, "Just because she doesn't look like a flower, doesn't mean she isn't pretty like a rose is. Wouldn't you agree that roses are pretty," she asks.

"Yes, roses are pretty," he agrees.

"And do you think your aunt is pretty?"

"Yes, she's pretty. But not as pretty as you."

She blushes a little more, "thank you Masen. Next time you see your aunt you should tell her that she's pretty as a rose. I'm sure she will be very happy to hear you say that. Can you do that for me?"

He nods his head, "sure."

She chuckles and rights herself in the chair she was sitting in. I excuse us for a few minutes, to complete the interview outside.

"Alright, I don't think I have any further questions," I say shaking her hand.

"Thank you for your time Mr. Cullen. Masen is adorable, he's quite the flirt," she laughs, blushing once again, probably remembering his compliments.

I laugh, "I have no idea where that came from; I've never seen him act that way before. I think he likes you."

"I like him too, he seems like a wonderful boy."

"He is. Thank you for stopping by Ms. Swan; it was a pleasure to meet you. I'll be in touch."

"Thank you Mr. Cullen," she says as Alice leads her back to the gate.

_Holy shit._

If I felt inadequate as parent before, I certainly feel it now. I'm twenty-five years old trying to raise a six year old, and she did it at the age of thirteen for fuck's sake. And then the way she interacted with Masen, that was incredible.

I head back into the trailer and finish my meal, offering Masen a few bites every now and then. Once Alice returns, mom and an excited looking Masen leave.

"So what did you think of Ms. Swan," Alice asks.

"I think she's perfect for the job. She was younger than I was expecting, but her previous experience can't really be replicated. She raised a child half her age when she was thirteen years old, that's unbelievable."

She laughs, "So you liked her I take it."

"Yes I did, I'll call her tomorrow to formerly offer her the position. And did you see the way Masen acted with her," I ask, not expecting an answer in return. "I haven't seen him act that way with anyone he just met," I ramble on.

Alice eventually calms me down, and pushes me out the door so I'll make it back to set on time. When I return to the room that night, I'm still in high spirits from the successful interview. Apparently Masen is still hyped up from his day with Emmett as well, as he excitedly tells me all about it.

After he tuckers out, we say goodnight to every and go to sleep, tangled up like usual.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The next morning, Masen and I have our customary breakfast of cereal in addition to splitting a pop tart. "So Masen, did you like Ms. Swan from yesterday," I ask to see what he has to say about her.

He gets a look of contemplation on his features, as if trying to remember her. His face brightens as he says, "do you mean Ms. Bella from your work? I like her very much; she's very pretty, just like her name says."

I chuckle at simplemindedness. "I'm glad to hear that. How would you like it if you got to spend your days with her when grandma goes home?"

He frowns at me, "grandma is leaving?"

"Not today, but in a couple days I would imagine. She has to get back to grandpa and her job, so I was thinking you might like having Ms. Swan around to watch you while I'm at work."

He gives me a little smile, "I would like that."

I give Masen a hug and kiss as my mother comes out of her room, signaling it's time for me to get to work. "I'll see you guys later," I wave as I head out the door, "I love you."

In between makeup and the start of filming, I slip my phone from my pocket and dial the number scribbled on the piece of paper from yesterday. Ms. Cope answers the phone, and I politely inform her that the position has been filled and her services are not required.

After hanging up with Ms. Cope, I quickly dial the second set of numbers on the paper, and slip it back into my pocket.

"Hello," the voice answers, sounding slightly out of breath.

"Hello, is this Ms. Isabella Swan," I ask.

"This is she," she says professionally.

"This is Edward Cullen calling about the interview from yesterday. I would like to formally offer you the position as being my nanny if you're still interested."

"Of course I'm still interested, I'd love to accept your offer," she says sounding excited.

I smile at her apparent enthusiasm, "Excellent. I would like to slowly introduce you to being around Masen; he's met a lot of new people in the past week, so I would like him to get accustomed to you so you aren't suddenly thrust into his life on a daily basis. I was thinking perhaps starting off with dinner one night, and then spending the day with Masen and my mother so someone he is familiar with is around. Does that sound alright to you?"

"That sounds like it would be a good idea; when did you have in mind?"

"Would you be free tonight, I think that today should be a short day film wise."

"Yes, I'm free. Where would you like me to meet you," she asks.

"At my hotel at say… seven o'clock. That should hopefully give me enough time to get back. I'll have Alice call you, set up the specifics, and get any paperwork sorted out beforehand. We can talk about the rest tonight; I have to get going," I say quickly, noticing the time.

"Alright, I'll see you tonight Mr. Cullen. Thank you again."

Once I'm off the phone, I briskly walk to set with Alice tagging along beside me as I quickly tell her the details about tonight.

"I just got off of the phone with Isabella about the nanny position. I invited her over for dinner tonight so that she and Masen can get a little more acquainted before my mother leaves. I don't want him to suddenly be stuck with another stranger on a daily basis again like he was at the beginning of the week.

"With that being said, can you have all the necessary paperwork drawn up for her to sign before tonight? If you could meet up with her before she comes over that would be great; I don't feel comfortable having her around Masen and I anymore without have the confidentiality agreement signed. She doesn't seem the type that would gossip to the press, but I'd rather be safe then sorry.

"Also, in regards to tonight, I don't want Rosalie anywhere near my room. I don't need Rose to critique my choice and put Isabella through an unnecessary interrogation. So, if you could please arrange for Rose, Emmett, and Esme to have dinner out somewhere, I would appreciate it. And of course if you want to join them and catch up with Rose, be my guest Alice; I know that you and Rose miss each other. Can you also call the hotel and have dinner served by ten to seven so it's ready when Isabella gets there.

"Can you think of anything else," I ask out of breath.

"Not that I can think of. I'll have everything taken care of Edward, don't worry," she soothes, noticing my anxiousness.

The day went by quickly, and before I know it, it's six o'clock and I'm rushing into the hotel room. I see mom and Masen sitting on the sofa watching something on TV. I quickly explain to my mother the details about tonight, as I whisk Masen off to our bathroom to get cleaned up. I see my mother take out her phone to call Rosalie as she heads to her own room.

Masen and I hop in the shower and then get dressed nicely for Ms. Swan's arrival. As we're sitting on the couch waiting for dinner to arrive, my mother walks out of her room in a black dress and her hair flowing around her shoulders in curls.

"Well I best be off, Rosalie and Emmett are probably waiting for me," she says kissing us both on the top of our heads.

"Bye mom, tell Rose and Emmett that we'll see them tomorrow for lunch before they leave."

"Of course," she says, waving one last time as she closes the door.

A knock at the door followed by, "room service," alerts me to the arrival of dinner. I open the door, allowing them to come in and set up in the dining room. They swiftly enter and set up, leaving ten minutes later.

I hear Masen's stomach grumble next to me accompanied by him moaning, "I'm hungry, can we eat?"

I try suppressing a smile as I answer, "we're waiting for Ms. Swan to get here before we eat."

He looks at me confused, "why is she coming?"

"I want us to get to know her a little bit better before grandma has to leave."

I look at my watch and notice it's one minute to seven when the there is once again a knock at the door. I stand up and open the door to Ms. Swan. She's wearing black pants, a gray shirt, and silver flats. Her long mahogany hair is pulled back in a tight ponytail, exposing her long neck adorned with a silver chain and dark pink gem.

"Good evening Ms. Swan, thank you for coming tonight," I say waving my arm, inviting her in.

"Good evening, thank you for having me," she says nervously, looking around the room.

"Ms. Bella," Masen exclaims, rushing over to her and giving her a hug.

"Hi there Masen, how are you today," she asks.

"Good, I'm hungry, let's go eat," he says grabbing her hand, dragging her to the dining room.

"Masen Carlisle," I scold, "that's not very polite."

"Sorry," he mumbles dropping her hand like it was on fire. He looks down at the ground shifting nervously from side to side.

Turning to Isabella I ask, "Are you hungry?"

"Yes, I'm starving," she says, patting her stomach trying to make Masen feel better.

We sit down to eat, with Masen sitting next to me and Ms. Swan across from us. During dinner, Masen reverts back to his shy self from when I first met him. I try to engage him in conversation but he only nods or gives terse answers in response. Ms. Swan even tries to get him to talk by asking him what his favorite meal is, which we discovered is chicken nuggets from McDonalds.

After we're done eating, we relax on the sofa, turning on a movie for Masen. "So when did you want me to spend the day with Masen and your mother? I was actually a little surprised she wasn't here tonight," she comments.

"She probably would have been, but my sister and her husband are still in town. They're leaving tomorrow, and I didn't want you to have to deal with them just yet. Rose can be quite intimidating, and I didn't feel like putting up with her games tonight. So I had Alice arrange for them all to go out to dinner tonight while you were here. But how about Thursday, my mother leaves Saturday so you can move in then and you'll officially be on the clock after that."

"That sounds good, that will give me just enough time to tie up a few loose ends I have and say my goodbyes."

"Are you leaving many people behind," I ask concerned I'll be taking her away from her loved ones.

"Not many. My dad, Jake, and Billy are the primary ones, but I have a couple other friends that I should probably talk to before I move."

I nod in understanding. I look over at Masen sitting on overstuffed chair, and notice his eyes glazed over as he stares into space. "Masen," I say, bringing his attention back to the present. "Come here," I say waving him over.

He looks at me with fear in his eyes as he slowly makes his way towards me. My mind starts running a mile a minute, trying to figure out why he's looking at me like that. I never want to see that fear directed towards me. When he's standing in front of me, I scoop him up and set him on my lap. "What's wrong Masen," I ask, moving the hair from his face as tears start falling from his jade eyes.

His mask falls from his face as he throws his arms around my neck squeezing me to him sobbing, "I'm sorry," over and over again. "Please don't hit me," he cries.

Shocked, I hug him to me even tighter, "Masen I would never hit you buddy. Why are you apologizing, you didn't do anything wrong."

"You said my middle name before; whenever someone says my middle name I get in a lot of trouble. Laurent hits me with his belt or hand," he sniffles.

I cry with him, "Masen… oh Masen. I'm so sorry you ever had to live with him. I love you, I will never strike you, I promise."

After several minutes of quite sniffles I'm brought out of my bubble, "I'll leave you two alone, I don't want to intrude," Ms. Swan says shifting nervously next to me. Once again, Masen made me forget everything around me except for him.

I shake my head, "no, please stay a little longer. I should probably address this with you. Let me just go lay him down," I say standing, cradling Masen to my chest.

As I try laying him down, he holds on tighter, refusing to let me go, "don't leave me," he mumbles.

I settle down next to him, as he molds his body to me. I kiss his head, holding him close, telling him how much I love him and that I'll never let him go. After ten minutes or so, his breathing evens out, indicating that he finally fell asleep. I try extracting myself from his grip, but every move I make he readjusts holding on more tightly. I eventually decide to pick him up and bring him back out with me.

I settle back on the sofa next to an uneasy Ms. Swan, "he's asleep, but even in his sleep he refuses to let go of me," I explain.

She gives me a sad smile in response. I look at her eyes, and notice they are red and puffy, making me wonder if she was crying right along with Masen and me.

"I never really planned on divulging this information with you, but after tonight, it's apparent that I need to. A week ago a social worker came to my work telling me an ex-girlfriend from high school passed away. She left behind a son, who I was then informed was also my son. During the week, I guess there have been certain… _triggers_… that have set Masen off.

"He eventually told me that his mother's boyfriend, who was living with them, use to abuse him. I still don't know what the extent of the abuse was, but every now and then something sparks memories of Laurent. He's scared of bathing because he's afraid that he's going to be drowned. He's constantly afraid that I'm going to leave him, and I don't know what else I can do to assure him that I'm not going anywhere," I trail off.

"I think you're doing an amazing job with him from what I can see. I wouldn't know what to do in your position either, but I think that you're handling it wonderfully. He's comfortable enough with you to open up about his past, that's a huge step for someone with an abusive past."

"I just wish I could have been there for him sooner; I could have saved him some of this anguish," I say focusing on Masen's small frame cradled in my arms instead of the tears threatening to fall from my eyes.

"Don't focus on the "could have" or "would haves" of the past, you'll drive yourself crazy. Just concentrate on what you can do for Masen from here on out."

"Thank you," I whisper, "I really needed to hear that."

After a few minutes of comfortable silence I say, "My mother hasn't mentioned any break downs to me apart from a little separation anxiety now and then. She tried getting him to shower once, and after him confiding in me the following day, I'm the only one that has gotten him to shower. So in the future, you could _try_ to get him to shower, if you felt so inclined, but don't be surprised if he breaks down crying or something.

"I'm sure something might come up while you're watching him eventually. Now you're semi prepared, or at least _informed_ of the situation. If you ever have a problem with him not calming down, you can definitely call me, or contact Alice so she can track me down," I trail off solemnly.

"Thank you for telling me, it will make it easier if something similar should happen in the future." Glancing down at her watch she adds, "I should get going though. I'll see you Thursday then?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry he wasn't a little more sociable tonight. I guess I know why though," I say sadly.

"It's okay, I'm sure it will go better on Thursday. Have a good night Mr. Cullen," she says heading towards the door.

"You too Ms. Swan," I say as she closes the door.

Letting out a big breath, I look down at the sleeping form of my son still cradled in my arms. I rise from my sitting position, being careful not to wake Masen, and head to the bedroom. Knowing it's futile trying to separate myself from him, I lay us down in bed and fall asleep without removing our clothes from dinner.

"Daddy, wake up," Masen says while pushing on my chest. "I'm hungry," he grumbles.

I open my eyes a few times, adjusting to the light and chancing a look at the time. Six-thirty in the morning, great. "Alright bud, I'm up," I say rubbing the sleep from my eyes and stretching.

As I'm heading out the door to get to set, I holler to Masen, "I'll see you at lunch today with Aunt Rose and Uncle Em, okay? Love you!"

"Bye!" he shouts back.

Before I know it, it's lunchtime and I'm making my way back to my trailer. As I open the door, Masen launches himself at me giggling.

"Hello everyone," I greet.

"It's about time you show up, I'm starved and so is Masen," Emmett bellows.

I roll my eyes, "If you were so hungry Em, you could have eaten without me, and you know it."

"See, I told you Rosie," he sulks sitting next to her on the sofa.

"Fine, by all means," she waves dramatically, "go ahead and eat. I just thought it would be nice for us to all eat together since we're leaving today. But help yourself," she huffs.

"It's alright Rose, we're all here now. Let's eat," I gesture to the spread of food on the table.

After we're done eating, we all say our goodbyes. "Thanks for coming Rose, I really appreciate you guys being here," I say hugging her close to me. "I'm sorry we didn't get to see much of each other, but once I'm done with this movie I'll have a little time off. You and Em should come and stay with us for a while."

"You don't have to thank me for coming Edward. You make it sound like I was forced to be here against my will. I am so happy for you; Masen is amazing and you're already a wonderful father."

Suddenly overcome with emotion, I turn away from her to collect myself. "I don't know how to do this Rose," I confess turning back to her. "I went from being a bachelor to a dad overnight. How am I suppose to give him what he needs when I'm off on location for half the year filming and the other half I'm off promoting. He deserves better than me," I say trying to contain the sudden urge to cry.

"Stop that," Rose snaps at me. "How can you even begin to say that? You're a great father Edward. You've only had him for what, a week, and he's already your main priority. Once you're accustomed to him being around, things will get easier. And how can you say he deserves better than you? You're his father and he deserves his father to be there for him," she emphasizes by poking me in the chest roughly.

I let out a big breath, "I know, I'm just scared I'll do something wrong. He's constantly worried about me leaving him, and it's hard to reassure him that I'm not going anywhere when I'm at work all day," I say running a hand through my hair.

"Like I said, it's been a week. It will get easier, especially when the parade of new people ends," she says giving me a sad smile.

Giggles coming from Masen snap us out of our serious discussion. "Thanks for the pep talk," I chuckle giving her another hug.

I step back from our embrace and walk over to say goodbye to Emmett, who is tickling Masen relentlessly on the sofa. "Stop, stop," Masen laughs breathlessly.

"I don't know, you haven't said the magic word," Emmett teases him.

"Please," Masen begs around his giggles.

"Please what?"

"Please stop," he chuckles.

"Who's your favorite uncle?"

"You are, you are!" he exclaims.

"Emmett, stop harassing my son," I say finally, enjoying the sound of Masen's laugh.

Emmett stops and looks over at me innocently, "What? Masen and I were just having some fun, weren't we Masen," he prompts.

"Yep," Masen chirps up at me with a big smile on his face.

I shake my head and smile, "Sure Emmett. Masen, go say goodbye to your aunt," I direct.

Once Masen is out of earshot I continue, "Thanks for taking him to the park the other day. I wish I had more time to do those things with him," I say somberly.

"Don't sweat it Ed, once you're done filming you'll have plenty of time with him. I'm actually kind of envious of you," he says looking at Rose and Masen fondly. "I didn't really think I was missing anything in my life, but now I know that I want to start a family. I never really saw myself as being a father, but being around Masen the past few days has me itching to have kids of my own."

I smile at my big oaf of a brother-in-law talking babies with me, "You and Rose would make great parents Em, I have no doubt about that. And I know it will make Rose really happy to hear you say that, I know she's always wanted a family of her own. And besides, Masen needs some cousins," I say winking at him.

"You know what this means, don't you," he asks with an evil glint in his eyes.

"Um, no?" I say confused.

"Just think of all the baby making I'll get to do. And I always heard that pregnant women get really horny," he trails off with a far away look in eyes.

I fake gag, "Emmett, Rose _is_ my sister you know," I say giving him a sour look.

"Oh Eddie, you're just jealous you didn't get to partake in pregnancy sex. Don't worry though, I'll fill you in," he says slapping me on the back.

"Jee, thanks Em," I say sarcastically. "I always love hearing about your sex life with my sister."

"Not gettin' any lately Eddie? I'm sorry; I didn't mean to rub my active sex life in your face." He pauses for a second before he adds, "Actually I did."

I punch his shoulder as Rose walks over, "Are you boys done? We should get going Em."

"Yeah, see ya later Edward. I'll see if I can come down again sometime before you're done filming so I can hang out with Masen some while you're working," Emmett offers.

"That would really mean a lot to me Emmett. I'm not sure how much physical activity he'll be getting with the nanny, I don't know how athletic she is or anything."

"Wow Eddie, already talking about physical activities with the nanny and she hasn't even started yet," Emmet says wiggling his eyebrows at me.

Rosalie smacks the back of Emmett's head before turning her glare on me, "You better not fuck the nanny Edward. That will cause too much confusion for you and Masen, no need to blur the lines."

I raise my hands in defense, "Seriously, do think I would do that? I would never cross those lines; I am in no position right now to even form any type of new relationship. I barely have time to sleep lately, let alone have sex. Besides, the last thing I need right now is to accidently father another child."

"All it takes is one night of loneliness, I'm just saying," she shrugs. "And she's living with you so you'll have the temptation around twenty-four/seven."

"Ugh," I groan running my hands through my hair. "I really hate you right now Emmett. I don't need to be lectured right now, I'm an adult capable of making my own decisions thank you very much," I grumble.

"Sorry man," he says sounding somewhat sincere.

We quickly say the rest of our goodbyes and I return to work. It's past one when I make it back to the hotel. I enter my bedroom and leave a trail of clothes from the door to the bed, not bothering to throw on my pajamas or set an alarm. As soon as my head hits the pillow, sleep overcomes me.

I hear hushed voices around me as the warm body next to me moves, exposing me to the room's cold air. I shiver as I burrow further into my pillow and blindly reach for my blankets. "Edward," I hear a soft voice far away. "Edward, you'll be late for work if you don't get up soon, it's already eight." A hand reaches out to shake me awake, "Edward."

"I don't work today," I mumble into my pillow and fall back to sleep.

"Daddy, daddy," Masen shouts bouncing on the bed next to me. "Grandma said to get up, it's nine. She said that if you don't get up now that you won't be able to sleep tonight," he exclaims. Changing his tactic he jumps on top of me, "Get up!"

"Oomph," I grumble, grabbing him and pulling him down next to me. "Good morning bud," I mumble into his hairline.

"Daddy," he giggles. "Please get up. I want to play with you," he pouts.

Opening my eyes I look at the chipper boy encased in my arms. "I'm up," I yawn. Releasing him from his prison, I sit up and make my way into the bathroom. "Masen," I call out, "let's take a shower. Ms. Swan is coming over today to see you."

He immediately runs into the bathroom, leaving his own trail of clothing in his wake. I chuckle and shake my head at his sudden eagerness to shower, I wonder if it's because he's excited to see Ms. Swan. We quickly shower and get dressed for the day. I follow Masen out of the room, grabbing my phone on the way.

I grab a pop tart and a cup of coffee my mother made and relax at the table in the kitchen. I take my phone out of my pocket and dial Ms. Swan's phone number.

"Hello," she answers after one ring.

"Good morning Ms. Swan. It's Edward Cullen calling. Are you still free for meeting up today," I question as I sip my coffee.

"Of course. I'm ready whenever you want to meet."

"Now is fine if you just want to meet us in our room. That way if we go anywhere Mike will available to drive us."

"Oh, I can drive if you want," she offers.

"Um, I don't know, I actually never really thought of that. Are you sure you would be okay with that," I ask, shocked that she would offer to drive.

"Yes it would fine. I've lived here for four years so I know my way around."

"I guess that would be okay, it would be nice to let Mike have the day off. Just come up to the room when you get here, I don't want to loiter in the lobby and draw unnecessary attention."

"I understand, I'll see you soon then," she says and hangs up.

I finish my impromptu breakfast and settle myself on the sofa next to Masen.

"So what's the plan today," my mother asks. "Is someone coming over?"

"I'm sorry I forgot to mention earlier but Ms. Swan, my nanny, is coming over to spend some time getting to know Masen before she's left alone with him. I was planning on her spending the day with the two of you, but I ended up having the day free as well. You're still welcome to join us if you want," I offer.

"Oh no, that's quite alright. You all should spend sometime alone together. I know your dinner didn't go as planned the other night. You should get a feel for her as well to make sure you made the right choice in hiring her."

"Yes, I was thinking the same thing. Perhaps I'll call if we're still out at dinnertime and see if you want to join us. I don't have anything planned for the day because I have no idea what Seattle has to offer. Luckily Ms. Swan offered to drive us, so hopefully she'll have some ideas."

She chuckles quietly as there is knock at the door. Masen pops up from his position on the couch and bolts towards the door. "Wait for me to open the door Masen," I call out. "Never open the door without an adult present, do understand," I ask as I join him by the door.

He nods his head as I give him the go ahead to open it. He swings the door open revealing a startled Ms. Swan. "Well hello there Masen," she blushes.

"Hi," he says bashfully all of a sudden, hiding behind my pant leg.

I chuckle at his sudden change in demeanor. "Hello Ms. Swan, come on in," I say placing my hand on Masen's head and messing up his hair.

"Hey," he exclaims, scowling up at me causing me to laugh some more.

"Thank you," she says stepping inside.

We head into the living area and I make introductions. "Ms. Swan, this is my mother, Esme Cullen. Mom this is Isabella Swan, Masen's nanny."

Ms. Swan extends her hand towards Esme who bypasses it and embraces her in a hug. "It's so good to officially meet you. I'm so sorry to have interrupted your interview the other day, I didn't know Edward was doing interviews that day or I wouldn't have come," Esme apologizes.

"Oh it's nothing to worry about. We were just finishing up at the time anyway. Plus I was able to meet to Masen then, so it all worked out I think," she smiles.

My mother grins at her, "well you kids should get going if you want to do anything before lunch," she says shooing us out the door.

"Yes ma'am," I salute.

She glares playfully at me, "Oh shush. Go and spend time with Masen, the day is wasting."

"You're not coming with us," Isabella asks confusion evident on her face.

"Oh no, you don't need me slowing you kids down today. I'm sure I'll see plenty of you in the future, now go," she urges. "Bye Masen," she says kissing the top of his head, "have fun with Daddy and Ms. Swan."

"I will, bye nana," Masen calls grabbing mine and Ms. Swan's hands and dragging us out the door.

**A/N: Hey sorry it took so long for the update. We threw a surprise party for my Dad's 50****th**** birthday and then over half the people that were here got the flu, not fun. So I was out of commission for a couple days from that. I'll try to keep updating regularly but I get writer's block quite frequently so hang in there with me. Please review, I love to hear what you all have to say and what you think of my story. If you haven't listened to the new Kings of Leon CD I would highly recommend it; it's amazing. My favorite song from the album is the new version of **_**Closer (Presets Remix)**_** on the extended version of the CD. I also like **_**Radioactive**_**,**_** Pyro**_**,**__**and **_**Pickup Truck**_**. Sorry, I've been listening to them nonstop for the past couple days; I'm obsessed.**

**Please Review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Slow down buddy," I laugh once the door closes behind us.

"Are we playing more soccer today Dad?" Masen asks excitedly as he continues to drag Ms. Swan and I towards the elevator.

"I don't know Mase, maybe later. I was hoping that Ms. Swan would take us around and show us Seattle a little bit," I say looking slyly at Isabella, indirectly asking her to pick today's activities. "Do you know of any places that might interest Masen, Isabella?"

"Oh, there are plenty of places that we could go," she says stepping into the elevator with Masen and I following after her.

"Can I press the button?" Masen requests eagerly.

I chuckle as I nod my head in assent, resting my hands on the top of his shoulders. "Number three," Isabella instructs. When I look over at her questioningly she explains, "I'm parked in the parking garage. There is a causeway on the third floor that we can take to get over there. I thought it would be better for you than using the lobby, plus there weren't many open spots on the street."

Masen immediately pushes the three button and we begin our descent. "I'm not all that familiar with places for children in Seattle, but I looked up some things online after we talked and I think I may have found a few that sound promising. I was thinking we could stop at The Children's Museum first, and depending on how long we stay there, there's a zoo or park we could stop by after," she says nervously, as if she's worried I might not like what she had planned.

"That sounds good to me. How does that sound to you Masen?"

He scowls at the floor. "I don't wanna go to a museum; they're boring. You have to be quiet and you can't touch anything," he says morosely.

Isabella and I chuckle in response. "It's not one of those kinds of museums Masen. This one was made especially for children to run around and play in; I promise that you'll find something that you like," she tries to pacify him.

"If you say so," he mumbles as we all exit the elevator.

I smile apologetically at Ms. Swan, trying to reassure her that her plan sounds good. I grab Masen's hand as we follow her to the car.

"Um, this is it," she says timidly, pointing to an old, red, rusty Chevrolet truck. She shifts uncertainly next to the bumper. "I guess I didn't really think it through when I offered to drive. I would totally understand if you wanted to call your driver-"

I raise my hand to cut off her babbling. "It's fine Ms. Swan; as long as it runs properly I have no qualm riding with you," I say raking my eyes over the ancient truck.

"It runs just fine. The max it goes is 55 mph, but besides that," she shrugs. "Jake has worked on it quite a bit over the past couple years once he started tinkering with cars, so it runs good."

"Okay, let's go then," I say trying to give her an encouraging smile, even though I'm silently begging God to not let the truck break down today.

Isabella walks around to the driver's side, unlocking her door. She jumps in the cab and reaches over to unlock the passenger door, no power locks. I lift Masen into the cab and climb in after him, helping him with his seatbelt in between Ms. Swan and I before fastening my own. She turns on the truck, the loud noise startling Masen and I.

"Sorry," she apologizes. "It's no Mercedes, but in a crash _the tank_ would crush a Mercedes," she says patting the dashboard affectionately. She suddenly blushes and slowly backs out of her spot and we're officially on our way.

"Mercedes are nothing special. I'm driven around in them all the time, so I don't really get to enjoy it exactly. Most of the time I'm too tired to even know my surroundings, let alone care what type of car I'm in," I run my hand up the back my neck, looking out the window.

"I didn't mean to-" she starts before I cut her off again.

"I know. So are you excited to get out of the hotel Masen," I ask changing the subject.

"Yeah," he says excitedly. He continues to ramble about this and that, effectively brushing off the awkwardness between Isabella and I that had settled in.

"Here we are," Isabella says, pulling into the parking lot of the museum sometime later.

I'm a little worried that Masen won't like The Children's Museum. I've never been to one before so I have no idea what to expect, but children and museums don't seem like a good combination to me. I hope that for Isabella's sake that Masen enjoys it; I don't want her to be disappointed, or Masen for that matter.

We walk into the museum and stand in line for our tickets. Masen looks around eagerly at all the other children running around and starts getting anxious to join them. Once we reach the front of the line, the woman at the counter does a double take when sees me.

"Edward Cullen?" she stammers looking at me with wide eyes.

I give her a tight-lipped smile and nod my head in assent. "Yes, I would like two adult tickets and one child please," I say as nicely as possible, hoping she won't draw too much attention to my presence.

"Um," she stutters, "I'll be right back with the manager sir." She rushes away before I can stop her.

I huff at her retreating form and look at a curious Ms. Swan standing next to me. Before I can offer an explanation the woman and manager return.

"Mr. Cullen on behalf of The Children's Museum Seattle we would like to welcome you. Your entrance admission will be free of charge and if you need anything at all during your visit don't hesitate to ask me or another staff member," the manager says graciously, eyeing Ms. Swan and Masen peculiarly.

"Thank for your generous offer, but I insist on paying the admission fee just like any other visitor. I appreciate your hospitality, but we will not be requiring any special privileges today," I say politely, handing over enough cash to cover the entrance fee. The manager speechlessly hands over the wristbands and pamphlets of the museum as I grab Masen's hand and drag him away from the line, with Ms. Swan trailing behind us.

I didn't mean to be rude but I don't like accepting things for free. I will never understand why becoming famous entitles celebrities to free things, or makes them _think_ that they are entitled to free things. It reminds me of that line from _Love Actually_, "Hiya kids. Here is an important message… Don't buy drugs. Become a pop star, and they give you them for free!" That line rings so true. Become famous and now that you can afford to buy ridiculously expensive things you don't have to because you get it for free. It doesn't make any sense to me, but I make it a point to pay whenever I can.

I pass Isabella her wristband and distractedly help Masen with his before putting my own on. "Where do you want to go to first Masen?" I ask.

"This way," he shouts dragging me off to the side, following a couple of kids.

We stop on the outskirts of all the action, watching the other children play. "This is the Imagination Studio," Isabella explains besides me. "It's a kid-sized art studio."

I nod my head in acknowledgment and bend down to Masen's height. "Do you want to go make something Masen? It looks like there's painting or clay if you want," I say pointing out the various stations.

He squeezes my hand and shuffles closer to me. "I don't know anyone," he whispers.

"That's okay. Do you want me to come with you?"

He nods his head and hesitantly goes over to the painting station. I help him get paper, paint, and a smock to cover his clothes. He starts painting and a little boy next to him starts talking to him, letting me escape back to Ms. Swan's side.

"Looks like he made a friend pretty quickly," she smiles in greeting.

I chuckle. "Yeah," I say running a hand through my hair nervously. "He didn't even notice me leaving his side." After a short pause I apologize, "Listen, I'm sorry for my behavior with the tickets. I don't like taking free handouts, especially when I have the capability to pay for almost anything I could want. I don't mean to be rude when situations like this arise, but it frustrates me. I know that's no excuse to act the way I did, but I don't want you to think that's my typical behavior," I say exhaling a big breath when I'm done.

"Oh," she says surprised. "You don't need to apologize. Quite frankly, I didn't think anything of it. I was more surprised about their response to you than your response to their offer. Is that typical for you to get reactions like that?"

"Yes and no," I say slowly. "If you're referring to the free admission part and the manager trying to schmooze me, then yes. But when other people recognize me it could be anything from squealing fans to asking for a picture or autograph. One of the joys of being on the big screen I guess," I say turning to her with a tight smile.

"I'm sorry. That's got to be hard for you."

I shrug, "I knew it was a possibility when I went into the business. Plus, there's not much I can do about it now. Even if I decided to quit acting tomorrow I would still be recognized and tracked, especially with my sister and brother-in-law still in the business. I'm just sorry I had to bring Masen into this world I'm in. I never dreamed of raising a kid in the spotlight, especially when I didn't exactly have choice. Luckily no one has found out about him yet, but it's only a matter of time. I wouldn't be surprised if there are paparazzi waiting for us outside actually. It's very likely that they found out that we are here."

"Oh I'm so sorry. I completely forgot about that; I shouldn't have chosen such a public place. We can leave if you'd like and go someplace else," she offers quickly.

"No, no, this is fine," I assure her at the panicked look on her face. "It will get out eventually and Masen deserves to get out. He's been held up in the hotel for a while; he needs this. He got out a little bit with my parents and when my brother-in-law was visiting but not much. The most he gets out is when he's visiting me on set and that can't be all that fun for him."

"If you're sure," Isabella replies uncertainly. "Is there a reason it hasn't gotten out to the press yet that you have a son? If it's too personal you don't have to answer."

"No it's not too personal. I haven't been followed since I've gotten to Seattle so it's only a matter of time before they show up. And if they do happen to see me out and about I'm usually alone so they wouldn't see Masen anyway. But once they do spot us, it will be a nightmare. I could make a statement now and prevent it from taking us off guard and scaring Masen, but I guess I'm trying to save him from that situation as long as possible."

"That makes sense."

"Dad, Dad! Look what I painted!" Masen yells grabbing my hand with his paint filled ones and dragging me back to his project. Luckily, the yelling didn't cause too many heads to turn because it is already loud with all the other children and parents talking.

I chuckle at his enthusiasm, "Now what do we have here?" I question while scanning his work with a smile. On one side of the paper is a house with what appear to be flames around it and two people inside, one with Xs for eyes. There is also a person outside of the house looking at it. On the other side of the page is what looks like a room with three people in it.

My smile falters slightly as I take in what the meaning of his painting must be. "That looks pretty cool Mase. Perhaps we should let it dry and we'll come and grab it when we're ready to leave, how does that sound?" I ask, making a mental note to question him later about the painting.

"Good," he replies.

"Alright, well let's clean up our mess here and then we'll move on to something else."

"Okay," he readily agrees.

Isabella and I help him clean up his station and then we make our way to the next exhibit.

"It's pretty nice outside, do you want to check out the Lil' Green Thumbs exhibit? You can help them plant, water, and harvest their garden. Does that seem like something you want to try Masen?" Ms. Swan asks.

"Sure, I like to play in the dirt," he smiles.

We smile and go to the outdoor exhibit where we teach Masen how to plant a seed and water it, gaining another souvenir to take home with us. After we're done playing in the dirt, as Masen likes to call it, we head over to the Story Telling Circle.

Masen sits down with the other kids while a museum employee reads a story to them. He then grabs a book and asks me to read it to him. Halfway through the story Masen complains, "I'm hungry." I laugh and look at the time and notice it's almost three in the afternoon.

"Wow, it's a lot later than I thought it was. No wonder you're hungry," I say giving him a noogie. "We skipped lunch."

"Hey!" he laughs trying to move hands away.

I smile down at him, "Shall we pick up your painting and get something to eat?"

He nods his head vigorously. "Alright let's go," I say pulling him up from our position on the ground.

I'm holding Masen's painting in one hand and one of his hands in the other as we make our way out of the museum. Flashes assault my vision as yelling bombards my ears as we walk out the door. "Shit," I mutter under my breath. Masen squeezes my hand tightly as he freezes beside me at the same time I sense Ms. Swan stiffen on the opposite side.

I hastily hand over the painting to Isabella and scoop Masen into my arms as we rush to her truck. "What's happening?" Masen questions into my neck. I can feel his tears falling onto my shirt and dampening it.

Isabella quickly unlocks the doors and we hop in. Somewhere along the way some sort of security stepped in to prevent some of the photographers from following us all the way to the vehicle, but a few still managed to slip by.

"Edward! Who's the boy?"

"Is that your son?"

"Who's the woman with you?"

"Are you dating? Is that her son?"

The questions are repetitious and never-ending as Ms. Swan tries to maneuver her way out of the parking lot. Once we're safely on the road and away from prying eyes, I release my death grip on Masen and buckle him into his seat.

"Who were all those people? And why were they yelling and taking pictures?" Masen sniffles, leaning into my side.

I wrap my arm around his shoulders trying to comfort him as best I can, "That was the paparazzi. They take pictures of daddy because of my job. And because you were with me they wanted to know who you were," I try to explain.

"I don't like them; they're scary. Can't you tell them to go away?"

"I wish it were that easy buddy. I'm afraid that they will be around for a while to come. If a stranger ever comes up to talk to you, don't talk to them unless I tell you it's okay. If you're alone, make sure to find someone that you know whether it's me, Ms. Swan, Ms. Alice, or grandma and grandpa. Anyone, just as long as you're with one of us, do you understand?"

"Yes," he answers softly.

"So what aren't you suppose to do, can you tell me?" I question.

"Don't talk to strangers and find someone I know," he recites.

"Good. And don't forget that. I'm sorry that they scared you buddy, I should have warned you about them. How are you handling it over there Isabella?"

"Hm?" she mumbles, looking over at me briefly before turning her attention back to the road.

"I asked how you were doing."

"Oh. Good, good. A little bewildered at the moment, but I'm sure it will pass soon enough. It's one thing to think about it happening to other people, and another to actually experience it yourself. I was completely unprepared for that. How do handle it?" she asks incredulously.

I laugh humorlessly, "I would say you get used to it, but I guess the more proper phrasing would be that you get numb to it. You learn to walk quickly to your destination, ignore the questions, and don't talk to them. People have an absolutely ridiculous cultural obsession about the lives of celebrities that I could do without, especially when it brings my friends or family unwanted attention. And now Masen is going to be across every media outlet around the world within minutes, and there's not a thing I can do about it. Speaking of, I should probably call my agent and publicist."

"Did you want me to take you back to the hotel? Or did you want to stop and eat first?" she asks more calmly than before.

"We should probably just head back so we don't get caught up in another shit storm without proper security. Hopefully there won't be anyone waiting for us when we get there," I say agitated.

On our way back to the hotel I call Jane and Heidi and explain the situation to them. While we were in the museum they had already been fielding phone calls from every major media outlet in the country asking for details. I give the go ahead for them to release a statement saying that I was recently connected with my son after his mother's passing. Hopefully that will give them enough to go on for now and they won't feel the need to dig further into his past then that, although I know that most likely won't happen.

Luckily when we reach the hotel there doesn't appear to be anyone waiting for us. Isabella quickly parks and we hastily make our way back to the room. Throughout the trip back, Masen stays attached to my side and continues to cling to me as we settle down in the living room.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting you guys back so soon," my mother says while exiting her bedroom. She notices Masen curled into me and everyone's somber expressions and rushes over to us. "Is everything okay? What happened?" she asks worriedly.

"We went to The Children's Museum and I was recognized. Needless to say, when we were leaving there was a swarm of paparazzi waiting for us. You know how it is with the cameras and yelling, well Masen just got a little spooked is all," I explain.

"Oh you poor dear," she says sadly, stroking his hair gently.

"I'm hungry," he says into my shirt.

We all chuckle. "You didn't feed him! He hasn't eaten since breakfast this morning," mom admonishes while poking my arm.

"Hey," I say holding my hands up in surrender, "we were just leaving to go get some lunch. We thought it was best to get back so we wouldn't get attacked again. We were just going to order some room service. Would you like anything?"

"No thank you. But pick what you want and I'll order it for you. What would you like Isabella?" Esme asks.

"Please, call me Bella. Nothing for me though. I should probably get going and leave you three to your afternoon," Ms. Swan politely declines, rising from her chair.

"Don't be ridiculous. If the paparazzi hadn't found you today, you would probably still be out enjoying the day. This will be the last time you'll see Masen before you move in officially. There's no reason to cut it short just because you're stuck in here," Esme mock scolds.

"Uh," Isabella splutters.

"She's right Isabella. You are more than welcome to stay. It will give you a chance to get more comfortable here as well for when you move in," I add.

"Well if you're sure," she agrees, accepting a menu from my mother.

Esme places the order and we turn on the TV and relax before our food arrives. Eventually Masen gets off of my lap and grabs a couple toys and starts playing on the floor. Once the food arrives, we gather at the table to enjoy our late lunch.

As we go to rejoin Esme in living room, Masen notices his painting sitting on the table and picks it up. "Nana, look what I painted today!" he says excitedly.

She smiles at him and grabs the painting from him. I see her smile fall slightly, the same as mine most likely did earlier in the day.

"Who are all of these people Masen?" she asks.

"That one is mommy," he points to the person in the house with the Xs for eyes, indicating her dying I'm assuming. "And that one is me," he points to the other stick person in the house. "That's Laurent," he motions to the person standing beside the house. "And that is you, me, and daddy," he points to the remaining people on the opposite side of the sheet, which I presume are meant to be standing in the hotel room.

"Why isn't Laurent in the house with you and your mom?" I ask as I grab the painting from my mother and sit Masen on my lap.

"Because he was watching the fire from outside while mommy and I were trapped inside," he shrugs as if it's no big deal.

"Was Laurent in the house when the fire started?" I ask feebly, not sure if I want to know the answer or not.

"I think so, but I don't know because I was in my room."

"Where were mommy and Laurent when you were in your room?"

"They were fighting in their room again; I always made sure I was in my room when they were fighting. Laurent would get really angry sometimes and throw things. They would hit me if I was sitting by him, so I would try to hide."

"So when did the house start on fire? How did you get out?" I ask staring at my son gravely.

"Well it got quite for a while and then the fire alarm started going off. It used to go off when mommy cooked sometimes but after a while it still wasn't turning off like it normally did. I opened my door and I saw a lot of smoke but it was coming from mommy's room not the kitchen. I started calling for her but I couldn't hear anything over the loud noise.

"I went to look for her and her door was shut to her room. I knocked on it but I didn't hear anything so I opened it. I remember the handle being really warm. When I opened the door the room was on fire and she was sleeping on the floor. I tried to wake her but she wouldn't get up. It was really hot and I was yelling for help but no one was coming and I couldn't get her to wake up," he says starting to sound slightly hysterical.

I set the painting on the ground and pull him closer to me. "Then what happened?" I encourage.

"I was going to go get a neighbor to help but when I got out of her room, other parts of the house were on fire too. I ran down the stairs but I couldn't get out the front door because of the fire. I tried to yell to get help but there was too much smoke and I kept coughing. I remembered about the back door, but we never used that one. I ran to it and got out and I tried calling for help but I kept falling. Someone came to help me and tried telling them to go help mom but I couldn't talk. The next thing I remember I was waking up in the hospital and they told me mommy was gone."

"I tried to get help, I swear I did," Masen cries into my shoulder, "but I got so tired."

"Sh, Masen. It's okay. No one blames you bud," I try to soothe, my heart breaking for him. "You did the best you could, it's not your fault."

"But she's gone, I couldn't save her. I tried to help, but she just wouldn't wake up," he sobs.

Tears are falling down my face as I hold my son to me, wishing there was some way I could take his pain away from him. I hear sniffles around me and look up to see Esme and Isabella holding each other's hands for support as they cry with us.

"Masen," I breathe, "it's not your fault. There is nothing else you could have done to help her. The doctors couldn't save her. If it weren't for you they wouldn't have even known she was in there. You're very brave for helping her when the room was on fire. I can't even think about what would have happened to you if you hadn't gone looking for help. I love you so much Masen. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."

"I miss her," he cries. "Why can't she come back? What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything Masen. She's up in heaven with all the other angels watching over you. She'll always be with you even if you can't see her."

"She promised me that I would get to meet someday. But why did she have to die in order for me to meet you? Why didn't you want to meet me before? Why didn't you live with us like others daddies live with their families?"

A few more tears fall for the broken child in my arms. "I'm sorry. I didn't know about you until Mr. Jenkins brought you to me. Your mommy never told me about you. I would have been there if I had known Masen. Nothing will ever get in the way of me being there again. Remember, like I told you the other day? You're mine and I'm yours and we'll always be together."

"Do you promise?" he sniffles.

"I promise," I say softly. "Forever."

"Good."

I kiss his head and carry him into the bedroom to lay him down for a nap. "Are you going to sleep too?" he asks half asleep.

"No, I have to go talk to nana and Isabella. But when you wake up you can come back out by us, okay?"

He nods his head and snuggles into the pillow. I watch him silently for a few minutes, stroking his hair and thinking about how much my life has changed in the past nine days.

Nine days ago my biggest worry was how I was going to get rid of Lauren. Now I'm a father watching over a shattered six year old. The more I think about Masen's life before he showed up in mine, the more saddened I become. If only I had been there for him, I could have saved him from Laurent's abuse and Tanya's poor parenting. I would have provided for him and made sure he knew he was loved. Instead I'm left with the remnants of a boy who was not only abused but also lost the one person he cared for.

I kiss him one last time before returning to the living room. I find them in much the same position that I left them, only now they are talking quietly amongst themselves.

"Oh honey, how's he doing?" mom asks worriedly, giving me a hug.

"I don't know honestly," I say running a hand through my hair. "He's sleeping now though, so hopefully he'll be better when he wakes up. I'm sorry you guys had to witness that."

"Oh hush. I'm honestly more surprised that's it's taken him this long to talk about it to be honest," Esme says matter-of-factly. "I thought maybe since he attached to you so well that he didn't think about it before. But he must have just been repressing it and talking about his mom probably reminded him of it."

"I don't mean to overstep any boundaries, but have you thought about maybe having him talk to someone about it? He suffered a traumatic experience with the fire and the death of his mother, add on top of that the issues with Laurent. He could benefit from speaking with someone," Ms. Swan inserts.

"No I haven't really thought of it. I think I'll see how things are going in a couple weeks after he has a routine and isn't constantly bombarded with new people. Then again with the paparazzi finding out about him, that could be hard too," I trail off.

"It was just a thought. But I should get going. I have to finish packing up my things before Saturday," Ms. Swan says.

"It'll just be me and Masen tomorrow if you want to swing by you're more than welcome. You could bring some of your stuff by too so you don't have to do it all on Saturday," Esme offers, giving her a hug.

"Oh that's a good idea. I'll call you tomorrow if I plan on stopping by, I don't know how much time I'll have," Isabella replies.

We finish saying our goodbyes and Esme and I relax back on the sofa, waiting for Masen to wake up.

**A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update; I feel really bad about that. I hope there aren't too many errors. (If there are any major ones, please let me know and I'll fix them) I feel I rushed posting this because it's been so long but I wanted to get it out there. I get just as anxious to post chapters, as I'm sure you are to read them. I wanted to update for the holidays, but that obviously fell through. It was my intention to update this story before I did my other one, but I kept getting reviews for that one so I felt I needed to update the one that was getting more reviews (Wow that was wordy). That being said, if you want an update sooner… you NEED to review! It's been almost two months since I updated this story so let me know what you're thinking. It was hard for me to write this chapter because I had no idea what I wanted them to do, so I'm glad it's over. Hopefully the next chapter will come easier.**

**Please Review!**


End file.
